


i'm a mess (searching for a sweet surrender).

by michellejjones



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ed Sheeran - Freeform, F/M, Tokka - Freeform, i'm a mess, this was interesting to write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-10 13:14:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5587021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/michellejjones/pseuds/michellejjones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It is a fact unashamedly proven, a truth universally acknowledged, that Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe and Toph Beifong of the Earth Kingdom completely and utterly need each other. And so, it should come as no shock that they remained together. </p><p>In the midst of the pain and the tragedies, there was them."</p><p>[Tokka, of sorts. Set after the war.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I have rekindled my Tokka flame, and decided to try my hand at a fic for the two of them. This fic is loosely based on Ed Sheeran's song I'm A Mess. The title is taken from the song. It starts sometime after the war and goes on from there. In the beginning Sokka is around 20-21 and Toph is 17-18. POVs switch from Sokka's to Toph. This fic will be a three-shot. The chapters are already written, so they'll be up within the next few weeks. Also, sorry for spelling errors. I didn't proof read.
> 
> Reviews would be lovely!

_"And oh, I've known it for the longest time.  
All of my hopes; all of my own words,  
are all over, written on the signs.  
But you're on my road,  
walking me_ home."  
**~Ed Sheeran, _I'm A Mess._**

* * *

He comes because he needs her.

This is a proven fact; that Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe completely and utterly needs Toph Beifong of the Earth Kingdom.

So, when he knocks on her door -four quick strikes- she isn't entirely surprised. "Hey." He says. They haven't seen each other in a year; since his twentieth birthday, but he greets her like they saw each other yesterday.

She likes it. "What is it now? Kataang cooties?"

"... why didn't _I_ think of that nickname?"

She shrugs, "You're not as talented as you think."

He gives her a dry laugh. His nerves are all over the place, the way one is when they're dealing with harsh news. Toph tilts her head in his general direction. "What ails you? I don't got all day, my students come back after lunch."

She creates a stone seat for her back, and does the same for him. His lips twitch, but a smile doesn't form. "I just got dumped." He says. His bluntness makes it clear that he isn't looking for advice; he just wants company.

Toph has always been good at company.

Her silence greets him with open arms. "I went to visit the Kyoshi Warriors. Ty Lee met me. I knew something was up immediately, because she asked if I wanted to go get some rice cakes afterwards. None of the warriors were looking at me. I just..." He sighs. "Five years, Toph. I proposed on year three. She said she needed time. I proposed on year four, and she just shook her head. More growing, or something. But I never thought she'd-"

The blind girl felt him reach for her hand. It was a gesture he didn't even think about anymore. Toph kept her reactions minimal. It wasn't time to be thinking of a petty crush; not when a real friend needed her. "I'm such a mess, Toph. Inside and out. I don't know what to do; lately things have been going so _bad,_ and... you're the first person that came to mind when I asked myself who the steadiest person in my life was."

"Touched," She responds, her hand tightening around his.

"You're my best friend." He says. He's telling the truth.

Toph has always known this, only nodding in agreement. "I was invited to a party," she begins. "I wasn't going to go, because I didn't have a date. But you seem to be in need of a distraction. Feel like dancing?"

There's a silence. Sokka's nerves spike before coming to a slow and steady rest. Toph smirks to herself. "Of course. Got any spare party clothes?"

Her laughter is loud. "Duh."

She cancels class for him, and it's the most natural thing in the world.

**.  
. .**

Her servants dress her in the fancy clothes that rests easily against her skin. She's never hated this type of clothing; she's just hated being forced to wear them. They fix her hair and murmur about how beautiful it is _("It's the prettiest thing you own. Your whole face is precious, Miss.")_ , and Toph allows them. She can't see herself, but the complements help her to envision someone that isn't entirely ugly.

When she steps out into the courtyard, where Sokka is to meet her, she's alone. He isn't outside yet, but Toph is glad. Composing herself is harder when she can't see herself. Deep breaths prepare her for whatever might happen. A heartbroken boy and a heartbroken girl do not make the best team, so Toph makes it her duty to sew shut the wound in her heart. If one should have the chance to properly heal, it's Sokka.

She feels him before she hears him. He walks towards her quietly, as if to scare her, but she spins around, morphing the space rock he gave her all those years ago into a small knife and dancing on the tiles (even though she can't dance, not really) until she's pulled him down, her breath hot against his ear and the knife touching his neck.

"Boo." She says, whispering. She can feel the hitch in his throat, ignoring the way his hormones spike as she releases him. "When will you learn? You can't sneak up on me."

He rubs his neck (she can't see this, but it makes him feel better). "One day. One day, I will."

"Or, I'll sneak up on you like never before."

"It's on, Beifong."

He hooks her arm on his, and they walk the rest of the way in silence. His heart is still tattered and his smile doesn't come easy, but it doesn't seem like the end anymore.

They arrive in record time, Toph hauling him down alleyways when the crowds get a little too thick for her. The silence is companionable. As they approach the entrance, Toph speaks. "Try and be civil. Follow my lead, and you'll be fine."

"I'm civil," Sokka protests, but even as he says it Toph can sense his hopelessness.

"Not in the way you need to be tonight. I need class. I need snooty and rich. As long as you follow my lead, you'll be okay."

She can't see his face, but she can feel the look he gives her, the heat that rushes to his cheeks.

She expertly ignores this.

**.  
. .**

_"Please, Toph."_ He says. The puppy dog face he's pulling is dangerously cute, but a fruitless tactic, considering the girl he's attempting to persuade can't see.

"Do you _want_ me to bury you six feet under?"

"We took down Fire Nation _ships,_ I'm pretty sure we can at least dance." He really does want to dance, but Toph is unyielding.

"Ask someone else," she chokes out. An eighteen year old girl, commanding the man she's loved since the age of twelve, to ask someone else. Funny.

His answer is immediate: "But I want _you."_

She greets him with silence.

A moment after this, Sokka seems to realize his mistake. His face goes bright red and he lets out a stuttered, "T-that came out... it, it came out... w-wrong. I just meant, you know, that, as my best friend, I'd feel more comfortable dancing with you. Not because you're. Beautiful. Or whatever. Just because we're two friends who get along and I just want to dance and-"

She pulls him forward, until she can feel his breath against the ridge of her nose. "I can't dance. Now stop it. Ask someone else. People are staring." She pushes away what he called her. Beautiful.

Eighteen years.

She's never been called _beautiful._

He's been silent for a long time, but finally says, "I'm ready to go."

Toph's eyebrows raise, but she stands. He holds an arm out for her, and she accepts. "Why so suddenly?" After the goodbyes are said, the outside air meets them with freedom. It reminders her of Aang. She hasn't seen Twinkle Toes in a long time. Toph clears her throat.

"I'm going to teach you how to dance." His tone is final; like when he led them into battle a long, long time ago. She loves it when he talks like that, but not in this case.

"Sokka, no." Her voice is firm as well. "I don't dance."

"You should." Sokka's voice is quieter now. He doesn't explain why. Toph doesn't really want to know. "Please. For me. You never got me anything for my birthday."

"I thought my presence would be enough."

He chuckles; and it occurs to Toph that she isn't being a very good friend. Sokka's just been dumped, and here she is, saying no to something as innocent as dancing, even though it'll make him happy.

The wind wisps by, bringing a chill, and she tenses. An earthbender never shows weakness, but Toph has never liked the cold. Sokka knows this. He takes off the coat he had and drapes it over her, hugging her close to him. She wants to pull away, but decides that, just for tonight, Toph will surrender to her sweetest weakness.

Many, many years later, she takes this to be a crucial mistake.

**.  
. .**

A month later, Toph leaves the school in the trust of one of her best pupils and heads off with Sokka to the Fire Nation. He had stayed with her the entire month, sometimes helping out with things, but most of the time sitting by the cherry blossom tree she couldn't see but took care of anyway (she was told it was a beautiful tree. She didn't believe it) and staring at the sky with intensity.

Even a blind person could see he still loved Suki.

"So," she says, after the school is closed and they have set foot on a boat, bags on their back and wind in their face, "I heard those Fire Folk can dance. Think they could teach me?"

His grin is visible even to her. "Us Water Tribe folk do a pretty decent job too, y'know."

"Oh, I'm sure." They walk together to what she makes to be the front of the ship, his arm around her in a totally platonic way. The waves splash and she can hear a strange chirping sound. "Is that... Momo?"

Sokka laughs, "No. They're dolphins. They're beautiful, Toph."

She is silent, but so is he. They stand there, her unusually patient and him unusually peaceful.

It's nice.

Toph wishes it wasn't.

**.  
. .**

When they arrive, two weeks later, Toph kisses the ground and collapses upon the dirt, Sokka chuckling. She doesn't stand until a shadow falls over her face.

"Zuko!" Her voice is an echo of how it sounded when she first met him. She hops up, cracking her back.

"Toph." She feels him bow to her, so she does the same.

Then, she punches him on the arm. Zuko sighs. "Just because that's how you show affection doesn't mean I have to like it." They laugh.

Toph senses a flair of jealousy from who she registers as Sokka. She doesn't understand why he's jealous, but even Zuko can tell he is as Sokka marches up to them and demands, "Hello! What about _me?"_

"Um, what about you?" Zuko asks. He stares at Sokka with a completely serious face before slowly melting into a smile. "Sokka." He says.

"Zuko!" Sokka hugs him. They walk back to the palace together, each swapping stories. When they finally arrive at the palace, Sokka offers to take Toph's luggage to her room. "We're right next to each other, so it isn't out of my way."

"Thanks, Sokka, but I can-"

"-totally let you take them." Zuko interrupts. Toph gives his general direction a look. However, she says nothing. Sokka runs off, tripping only once (a record, really), before disappearing down the corridor.

"Well?" Toph asks the Fire Lord. He rubs his neck.

"You're going through the motions." He says. Toph doesn't understand, and rightly so. Zuko clarifies. "Of a couple. I thought he was dating Suki?"

"She dumped him, and, no, we're not. I'm just trying to help him move on." Toph huffs, "Like a friend is supposed to."

Zuko shakes his head. "This is more than that. You two have always been physical, but it's different somehow. He's looking at you different. He's..."

Toph stomps, raising the rock until she's about Zuko's height. "He's _what,_ Sparky?"

"... he's checking you out."

Abruptly, Toph lets go of the firebender. She's thrown off by this, but keeps her expression shuttered. "Yeah, well, I'm a big girl, Zuko. I've been asked out by guys and told I was eye candy before."

Zuko sighs, "But all those guys walked away with a black eye."

 _"Ran_ away. And, I'm sure Sokka was just watching out for me. To him I'm still a twelve year old girl that's overly confident." She begins to walk away, "Stop worrying. You're like an overprotective brother."

"That's because I _am."_ Zuko calls back.

He doesn't see her blush, but he knows she must have.

 **.  
** **. .**

They take to the courtyard every evening for weeks. Sokka is, in all honesty, a better dancer than she originally thought. She feels how he dances across the tiles, the grace in his steps impressive.

"I learned at the Northern Water Tribe. Believe it or not, training with the sword helped." He explains to her during her second lesson.

Toph is not as graceful. She has always been a stubborn spirit; unbending and unmoving. It isn't in her nature to be light. She's thankful that dancing isn't as light as airbending. There's no way she could move like Aang. It's not quite like water bending either. When Katara moved, it was light, but shifty.

Dancing, to Toph, is like firebending without the flames.

And she is miserably bad at it.

"Loosen up!" Sokka orders her, every two seconds. When she's overly tense, he even gives her a light poke or smack. On the arm, or leg. Stomach or even neck. "Toph, you have to trust your partner. Loosen up and go with the flow."

She does her best to obey (an earthbender never gives up), but even as she goes through the motions she can't work it out. "How?" She asks.

Sokka breathes out. "You have to surrender. To whoever your partner is. In this case, it's me. Surrender and trust me. Go through the motions with me. You have to be completely unafraid of being blind. Give into that and you'll find grace. You'll be light."

"I can't surrender. I don't know how."

He regards her thoughtfully, realizing his choice of words must be a little off. "Think of it as a sweet surrender." Sokka begins, sitting next to her on the ground. "You've been searching for so long, been a mess from trying to do everything yourself, and here comes this person who wants to completely and utterly share the load. And so you surrender. You're not losing anything but your own weight. And everyone likes losing weight."

Toph nods, quiet for a second.

"Toph?" Sokka asks. She feels him stand.

"Let's do this." She grins, reaching for him. The lone violinist they got to play for them begins some sort of sweet tune. Sokka's arm goes to the space right below her armpit, and he begins to move. Toph holds her breath. The steps she takes are rough and uncut, and she doesn't ever think she'll be graceful, until she hears a sound.

It's steady and even and strong.

It's a heartbeat.

It's Sokka's, and Toph tunes in on it. She focusses on that until she can't see anything else, gliding through the steps Sokka taught her with a newly discovered ease. She can feel his grin, hears the music speed up into a newer, faster tune, but the heartbeat of her best friend overpowers it all. It's intoxicating, and Toph loves it.

Somewhere along the way, they get closer to each other until their bodies are almost touching, and Sokka's hand has lowered itself to her waist. The fire in her heart allows her dance with a passion she only feels when earthbending. She glides with Sokka, until the song begins to slow again and he dips her, her hair (which has come loose) touching the floor. She comes to her senses, and using the foot that's still planted on the ground, realizes that Sokka is leaning towards her lips.

The flames inside their eyes are bright, and Toph is going to let him kiss her -she wants his love so, so badly- when the violin stops abruptly and Zuko's voice is heard.

"Dinner." He says, in a ferocious tone. Sokka helps Toph stand and watches the Fire Lord walk away.

"Toph," Sokka begins, "I-"

She gives him a small smile. The heat between them burns her. "Time for dinner, Sokka."

Slowly, he nods.

Dancing is not, apparently, flame-free after all.

 **.**  
. .

The sheet hits her disk with a dull thud, the air expectant. "What is this, Sokka?" She asks him, her eyes unseeing as they stare straight ahead.

"C'mon, Toph, can't you _see-"_ he cuts himself off, abruptly realizing the obvious.

Toph, despite reputation, shows mercy. She stays silent. "It's a flier for a dance." Sokka says. "We should go. Put the practice to use."

A small smile graces her lips, "When is it?"

"Tonight. One last dance before we go out separate ways?" His voice, deep and strong (the deep is new; the strong has always been there), does not return the mercy she had shown earlier.

The answer is clear before she speaks it, "I'll go get prettied up, then."

If it hadn't been for the fact that her being blind caused all other senses to be heightened, Toph wouldn't have heard Sokka's answer.

"You don't need to."

A blush dusts her cheeks and she can't help wondering what she's getting into.

**.  
. .**

She dresses in the latest fashion in Fire Nation party clothes. A gold crop top, a red skirt that has a dragon running along it. Her hair is loose, clipped away from her face, eyes alluring. The skirt is long enough that it covers her feet, and so she goes barefoot.

The maids tell her she looks beautiful, before going hush. "Leave us," Zuko says to them, and they obey. He doesn't say anything for a while. When he does, it's a hushed murmur. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." Toph says, tightly.

"You've grown so much." Zuko rubs his face, a headache forming. "Since I accidentally burned your feet all those years ago."

"Yeah, you still haven't been forgiven."

He chuckles.

"I'm not the only one that's noticed this, you know." The Fire Lord glances at her. She knows. "I hope you know what you're getting into, Toph. Sokka's a good man, but I have a feeling this isn't going to end well for you."

She snaps, preparing to raise hell as she turns. "What's that supposed to mean?" Toph growls.

To her surprise, Zuko doesn't go on the defensive. "You know what it means. I don't think your destinies are aligned."

"Don't talk to me about destiny. You're no Avatar."

"But I am related to one."

She steps towards him, room rumbling in her anger. She's grown in power, too, since the Fire Lord burned her. "Do not test me, Zuko."

He puts his hands up, "I'm here for when you need me, Toph."

She greets him with silence, stalking out.

**.  
. .**

The blush that greets her when Sokka lays eyes on her makes her happy. Zuko's words are immediately forgotten as Sokka places an arm around Toph's shoulders. They walk to the party in silence, watching firebenders burst into flames and animals juggle.

The place where the dance is held has a giant fountain in the center, a dragon spiraling upwards before spewing water into the air.

There's a band in the corner playing dreary, slow-place tunes, and nobody is dancing. Most of the men are stuffing their faces. The woman look unsure of themselves.

"Geez," Toph begins, "These people are so _boring,_ and I can't even _see!"_

Sokka nods, his arm tight around her shoulders, "Tell me about it." He releases her, "Gimme a minute." She nods, and he leaves her. She's alone for about two minutes before she feels a stranger stand before her.

"Hi," he begins. "I'm Kanto."

She's silent for a minute, taking him in. There's an honesty about him, but also a certain edge; recklessness. A lot of it. Toph likes this. "Toph." She extends a hand in his general direction, and he shakes it.

"Like the famous earthbender?" Kanto asks, and Toph smiles, nodding.

"You're alone." She says it like a statement.

"I am." Kanto acknowledges. "Just got in. I'm from Omashu. You're earth kingdom too, right?"

Toph grins, "And proud."

He chuckles, "So, um, Toph. Do you... y'know... wanna dance?" He's so unsure of himself, and it's so endearing, that Toph is about to say yes. She likes him.

And then.

Toph senses him.

If she could see Sokka, she would see how handsome he was; he'd gone from scrawny to well-built. His jaw was sharp and currently locked tensely, staring at her and Kanto with narrowed eyes. His arms were flexed, the muscle on them making girls look at him in appreciation. She can sense his jealousy, and it makes her glad.

She gives Kanto a sorry smile, "Some other time? I'm heading back to the earth kingdom tomorrow, but if you want to reach me, just ask for Toph Beifong."

She's walking away when his incredulity reaches her.

"Sokka," Toph says, grabbing his arm. Her fingers trail along his strong arms mercilessly. "What were you up to?"

He grins down at her, satisfied now that she's by his side. "Dance with me and find out."

Her eyebrows raise, but she nods, slow and steady. His firm hands clasp her waist and, with his help (Toph doesn't need his help, but when his hands touch hers the fire in her eyes makes it hard to pull away), puts her hands on his chest.

The music is slow, and very familiar. "What's it called?" Toph asks him. It's the same song with which she learned to dance.

"Flame Dance." Sokka answers. His head leans down and forward, swiftly meeting hers.

"How are you, Sokka?" Toph whispers to him. He knows the hidden question behind her words. He answers accordingly.

"She's been replaced." He murmurs back. "I think," Sokka breathes, "That before tonight I'll have fallen in love." The song is speeding up, and with only them dancing, it's easy to pretend they are the only ones around. They pull away, slow and steady, Toph listening to the way his heart does wild dances as he gazes at her. Their footsteps become more rapid as the song increases in speed, but they're always looking at each other, feeling for each other.

She goes completely blind as Sokka grabs her, "Put your faith in me," he says, and throws her in the air. She spins around, landing in a handstand, like the first earthbending form she'd ever learnt had gone. She springs up, faithfully awaiting Sokka, and there he is, as always, catching her in his arms to the beat of the music.

It's then that she realizes their hearts are beating to the same tempo.

When the music slows down, and he's got her leaning towards the ground, applause deafening, Sokka leans in, his cheeks bright red. Their foreheads touch before their lips.

"Toph?" Sokka says, moments before he kisses her.

She hums, eyes half closed, blind but to the heat of his skin.

"I'd like to kiss you."

She blushes, opening her eyes fully and raising a brow at him, "What are you waiting for?"

He laughs, then finishes the job. He kisses her softly, but firmly, and Toph kisses him back.

She surrenders.

**.  
. .**

He walks her back with her hand in his, jovially pointing out and describing the beauty around him.

"But that's not the prettiest," he says to her.

She can tell where he's going with this, but allows it anyway, "And what is?"

Sokka kisses her cheek, "You. You, with your beautiful hair and pale skin and tiny nose and loud voice. You, with your green eyes and strong will. With your ever-present logic and wonderful sense of humor. You," Sokka breathes out, amazed, "Are beautiful."

Toph's mouth opens to say something sarcastic, but nothing comes out. Her eyes feel misty. She counts to ten to calm herself. An earthbender does not cry over being called beautiful. "Suck up," She finally chokes out.

He sees she's astonished, but doesn't call her out on it. Toph loves him for that.

Sokka opens the door to her bedroom and kisses her goodnight, closing the door behind him. Toph smiles as she falls onto the floor (a bed has never been her thing), staring at the ceiling. She has known for the longest time that all her hopes and words were inked on to his skin, and vice versa. She has also known that Sokka would always be there to walk her home.

It just never occurred to her that _he_ was her home.

**.  
. .**

Zuko knocks on her door just as she is finishing breakfast. It's obvious he knows by the way he walks.

"Sokka told you."

"In a matter of speaking." Zuko says, "He's waltzing around the palace whistling and singing your name to various showtunes."

Toph grins.

"Be careful, Toph."

Her grin fades, "I will. Can you please shut up about my destiny now?"

Zuko nods, face grim. "I'll miss you, and Sokka."

She stands, pulling him into a warm hug. "Likewise." She punches his arm.

He punches her back. Her laugh is loud.

 **.  
** **. .**

Zuko and Mai wave them off, Zuko smiling and Mai ever-poised. Sokka's hand is placed firmly around her waist, each carrying their bags and laughing.

They reach the port in good spirits, up until they call Toph's ship. "That's me," Toph states.

"We'll see each other soon. I just have to go see some friends." Sokka sighs, "I wish you could come."

"School to run," the blind girl says.

"I know, I know." He kisses her knuckles, "I'll miss you."

"I reeeeaaaally need to go," Toph says, but then softens up, lifting herself up with her earthbending to kiss his cheek. Her hands traced his cheeks. "I'll miss you, too." She kisses him, and it's the best thing she's ever done.

"Don't get any new boyfriends."

"Don't kiss any other girls." Toph retorts.

He chuckles, "Do we want to make this public?"

The second bell goes off, and, in a more hurried voice, Toph says, "Not yet. We'll wait a bit, okay?"

He nods.

"Bye, idiot." She says, kissing him again. With a lot of strength, Toph releases him and picks up her bags, walking towards her ship.

"Love you!" Sokka calls after her.

She misses him already.

Months later, she takes this into account and decides that maybe it's that that stopped her from seeing the fact that Sokka's body emits a strange sense; like when one is unsure.

If only she'd noticed it sooner.

* * *

 _"See the flames inside my eyes:  
__It burns so bright, I wanna feel your love.  
__Oh, oh, easy baby, maybe I'm a light;  
Before tonight I wanna fall in love.  
And put your faith in my_ stomach."  
**~Ed Sheeran, _I'm A Mess._**


	2. part ii.

 

 _"Oh, I'm a mess right now.  
Inside out.  
Searching for a sweet surrender...  
... but this is not the end."  
_ **~Ed Sheeran, _I'm a Mess._**

* * *

She comes because she needs him.

This is a lesser known fact, but proven nonetheless; that Toph Beifong of the Earth Kingdom completely and utterly needs Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe.

So, when he walks into his quarters to find her curled up in his bed -shivering under his bedsheets- he isn't entirely surprised.

They haven't seen each other in about two months; not since he taught her dance and they had...

Sokka clears his throat. She's distracting and wonderful and unashamedly beautiful, and Sokka has missed her so, so much, but he refrains from tackling her in a hug like he usually does. He likes her a lot -probably loves her, really- but she looks so defeated, even though he can't see her face, that he stays silent for a long time.

"Hey." She says. Her voice is softer, but the same strong tone is still there. "Sorry to barge in on you."

Sokka gives her a glance, sitting on the chair at the foot of his bed. "When'd you get here?"

"This afternoon. It took a while to get here. Not many ships head to the Southern Water Tribe on a regular basis. And then I had to get someone to bring me here, 'cause I had to wear shoes and couldn't see. Some kid did it for me. Sweet girl. She asked where I wanted to go and... I told her your place. Here I am."

Toph hasn't faced him yet. Sokka regards her in wariness. He's worried about her. "Toph," He says, matching her soft tone, "Why are you here?"

"Not happy to see me?" She grins, bitterly, and though he can't see it, he imagines it.

Sokka sighs, "Of course I am. It's just -you hate the cold. You wouldn't come here unless you had news. What's up?"

"Just wanted to see you."

He stretches in his chair, stroking his chin. There's a goatee growing, and he wonders if she'll like it. "You and I both know that isn't true. Honey," he says, blushing when he realizes what he's called her, "If you'd wanted to see me, you would have sent a message. Something's come up. What is it?"

She's silent.

"Toph, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Toph-"

"-my parents are dead!" She yells out. The sudden silence is deafening. After a beat, Toph murmurs, "My mom's dead, okay? She died in a rock slide. My dad died a few days later. Heart attack. Lost the will to live, or some crap."

She finally turns towards him, carefully standing, and Sokka feels, with startling clarity, heartbreak.

It comes when he sees her tears fall, down to her chin and onto his sheets. She stares at his direction with unseeing eyes, tears gliding gently but steadily downwards. Her breathing is heavy. He hates to see her tears.

Immediately, Sokka is there, holding her in his arms, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back. "Oh, baby," He says, "I'm so sorry, baby." Toph's crying is louder now, heavier. She leans her head against his chest. She's so little -a good foot shorter than him- and so light, so fragile, but also so strong. He wants to cry at the sight of her pain, but holds himself firm.

He holds her, lets her cry and wet his shirt, before reaching down to her lower area and lifting her up. She instinctively wraps her legs around his torso, head buried in his chest. Her crying a little softer now. He sits down on his bed, leaning against his wall, holding her and rocking her, like you would a child. In this case, it's an orphaned eighteen-year-old girl. He kisses the top of her head again, and soothes her.

Sokka has seen Toph Beifong cry only three times in the six years he has known her, including today. Each time it has hurt him, but none like this. He's never seen her so defeated. It breaks his heart, splitting it in two and hitting it with a hammer.

"We barely saw each other," Toph whispers into his chest, "Barely talked. So..." She looks up at him, her eyes unseeing, but also seeing more than he ever would. "Why does it hurt so much?" She collapses into him again, her tears coming down louder and more treacherous than before.

"Oh, beautiful," Sokka says, kissing her forehead and holding her hands in his. Tiny, freezing hands are warmed by bigger ones. "You, of all people, should know."

She struggles to breathe. Her heart hurts. "Know what?"

"Beautiful girl," He whispers to her, rocking her back and forth, "Just because we stop seeing people doesn't mean we stop loving them."

She cries until she falls asleep against him, him holding her through the night and keeping their demons at bay.

**.  
. .**

His cheek jerks up from its place atop Toph's head when he hears someone hiss his name.

 _"Sokka."_ It's the whisper of a male.

He looks up, dazed. "Momo?" He asks, setting eyes upon the lemur that stands shivering in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

"Sokka," Says the same voice, but Momo's mouth doesn't move. "Sokka, it's me. Aang."

The man looks up into familiar brown eyes, warmer than most. "Aang?" Sokka asks. "Avatar Aang?"

"Um, yeah." The almost-nineteen-year-old says. His eyes flicker down to Toph's tiny, sleeping figure, before looking at the older man in question. "What's... going on? Why's Toph here, and why is she asleep in your arms?"

Sokka moves to place his finger on his lips, signaling to the young Avatar to be quiet. He gets up, and places Toph on his bed again, covering her up with his coat before putting more sheets on top of her. Ignoring his judgement, he plants a kiss on her forehead, murmurs 'I love you' in her ear, and then turns to leave with Aang.

Outside, Aang waits expectantly. "Katara didn't come in earlier, did she?"

The young man looks at Sokka oddly, but shakes his head.

Sokka breathes out, "Thank goodness." When he catches Aang's look, he explains further, "She came in yesterday. Her parents died."

The Avatar's face changes to a look of pity. They both know Toph would hate that look. "So that's why I sensed sadness in her."

Sokka nods.

"But, she came to you." He looks curious; "Why?"

The older man blushes, "We're best friends. We need each other."

Aang tilts his head to the side. "There's more to it than that. You two care about each other. A lot."

Sokka looks at the ground, then upwards at the sky. "Aang-"

"-you love her, I think."

Sokka blinks hard.

"And she loves you."

At this, his head snaps down in astonishment. "How'd you know?"

Aang grins, "It's not that obvious, not like it is with me and Katara. But you're both tender with each other when need be. You're both softer with each other than with anybody else, but tougher, too. It became obvious by when you kissed her. It wasn't that you kissed her. It was how. You kissed her," Aang says, "Like she was the most beautiful thing in both the worlds."

Sokka stares it him in amazement. Finally, he shakes his head, "That's because she is," he says, and genuinely believes it.

**.  
. .**

He's having a conversation with his father when said father looks past him and says, "Well, look at that. Isn't that the metal bender? Your best friend?"

Sokka turns around, a smile already forming on his face at her mention. She's clinging to Aang, the boots on her feet causing her to look straight ahead and take tiny steps. Aang is murmuring something to her, and when he's done her face snaps up to Sokka's direction. He walks towards her, taking in the dishevelled braid that she's put it in (who taught her how to do that?), the shivering shoulders that are hidden by his coat. It looks giant on her. Her hands are hidden in the sleeves.

"M'lady," Aang says, once Sokka stands before them, "Your guide awaits."

He hands her off to Sokka and she connects with him in such ease that Aang actually looks away. "How are you?" Sokka murmurs to her, after the children have dragged the Avatar away.

"I'm a mess," Toph responds. Bluntness has always been her policy, "But I'll survive."

Sokka places a hand over the one hooked on his arm, walking her around the town for the rest of the day. His father walks up to him while they're eating dinner, Toph and Aang quietly talking to each other about who-knows-what as they choke down their food.

"Your sister just got out of that meeting," He says to his son, "Lasted all afternoon."

"It's her own fault. She's the leader of the tribe, she wants to know everything that's going on, and that takes a while." Sokka shrugged, but his face softens after a moment, "Tell 'er I have her dinner and a surprise."

"How long's it been since she's seen 'em?" His father gestures towards Toph and Aang.

"Aang?" Sokka makes a face, "I wanna say a couple months. Toph? Not since my twentieth birthday." Sokka had recently turned twenty-one, so it had been a full year since the entire group had been together. Even now, they'd be missing Zuko and Iroh.

His father looks closely at Toph, so closely that Sokka is surprised she hasn't noticed. Whatever she and Aang are discussing must be serious. "Is she wearing your coat?" He asks, eyes snapping back to his eldest's face.

"Yep." Sokka says, popping the p. "She was cold."

"And you just... gave her your jacket... that you never, ever give to anyone because it was the same jacket that I'd given to your mother when we first met?" His father gives Sokka a knowing smirk.

Sokka rolls his eyes, ears burning. "It's not like that, Dad."

His father's smirk grows, "No. I'm sure it isn't." He ruffles his son's hair like he did when Sokka was younger, and walks away.

A couple of minutes pass before he catches sight of Katara. He stands, waving her over, quickly grabbing a sheet and throwing it on Aang and Toph. He hears Toph's tired sigh and Aang's stifled laugh. Sokka's thankful Appa and Momo are safely hidden. The campfire burns as the young children and teenagers dance around it. Katara walks towards him. The bags under her eyes make her look older than him, but when she smiles it's still her. Katara, his beautiful younger sister who thinks she doesn't need protecting.

He greets her with a hug, placing an arm around her and handing her a plate of food. Her brown hair is braided back, but the strange loops she's always loved remain her trademark. "How was it?" He asks her.

"Tiring," she responds, "We were discussing opening a waterbending academy. Problem is, only four waterbenders have turned up since the war ended, and that's not enough to start a school. The whole meeting revolved around it. We finally decided to wait a few years and just teach them after hours in the center of the village." She swallows a bowl of the hot soup, "It gave me a headache."

He hugs her, kissing her forehead before grinning, "I have something that might cheer you up."

"Sokka, I really don't want to see one of your sword forms right now-"

Her eyes widen as Toph steps out of the blanket. She walks hesitantly towards Katara's voice, before Sokka grabs hold of her hand and guides her towards her friend. "Hey, Sugar Queen." Toph grins, eyes shaded by her bangs. She is so strong, Sokka thinks to himself, to put others before herself.

She is so strong, and so foolish.

Katara's jaw drops, eyes lighting up. She hugs her friend, smiling and grabbing hold of Toph's hands. "Toph!" She says, "It's so good to see you!"

" 'Course it is." Toph responds.

"You look great. How are you?"

Toph glances towards her, "I'm doing okay." She's honest in saying this. Sokka raises a brow at her, but he understands why she didn't tell Katara about her parents; the woman had a tendency to overdo things. "You?"

"Better, now that I've seen you again! The only ones missing are Aang, Zuko and Iroh."

"Well," Toph smirks, "I wasn't able to get those hot heads down here, but Twinkle Toes didn't have to be asked twice."

Sokka grins at his sister's disbelieving face. "What-"

"Katara."

His voice has gotten deeper, deeper than Sokka's, even. The power that vibrates in each word astonishes even Toph, but the love that's uttered when Aang says his fiancee's name is unashamedly stronger. She runs towards him, collapsing into his embrace with unreserved love. Toph looks away.

"What is it?" Sokka murmurs.

She shakes her head, "My mother used to greet my father like that when he came home from business trips."

His hand tightens around her, and he kisses the top of her head as Aang kisses Katara.

They talk and they laugh for hours until Katara decides to call it a night, Aang jumping up to walk her to her -and soon to be his- home. They leave Sokka and Toph to the dying firelight. He watches the blind woman as she sits staring at nothing.

If she could see his face, she would see him looking at her like she was the most wonderful thing in the world. His feelings for her were a deep affection, but they were touched with an insecurity of _do I really love her?_

He hates that. "So," he says, once the silence has been a little too long, "what were you and Aang talking about?" He knows he really shouldn't ask, but it bothers him to see the two murmuring and whispering like they were talking about something no one else should know.

Including him.

Sokka knows Aang is close to Toph in the same way Zuko is close to her; they are her brothers, and the three of them are fiercely protective of each other. But it was never typical to see the two so serious. Sokka doesn't appreciate it.

"Our parents, relationships. Our lives, basically." Toph gives him a soft smile, bland and gray. "We don't normally chit chat about that stuff; it's a little too gooey for me, and too touchy for him. But that seal stew put is in a mood."

They chuckle, comfortable in the silence as the dying firelight flickers across their faces. Toph looks orange. "My parents caused me a lot of pain," she begins, blinking unseeing eyes. "With the words they'd say to me. That I was helpless, like a porcelain doll; beautiful but fragile. And yet..." she trails off before shaking her head, "and yet, when they locked me away from the world in the name of love, when they told me I could never accomplish anything, I remained strong and steadfast." Toph shrugs, "I have no doubt my parents loved me. They just didn't know how to treat an invalid who wasn't really an invalid."

Sokka's arm tightens around her. They stand together, her leaning heavily against him, blind and stumbling in the thick shoes. With ease, Sokka lifts her up, carrying her bridal style into the room where she'll be staying. It's right next to his, the igloo small but warm. He carries her (she's so light, but so heavy at the same time. Burdens make up half her weight) until they enter the little house. When she stands, she lets her hands wander about his face, until the come to a screeching halt at his chin.

Oh.

Right.

The goatee.

"Is... is that... a beard?" Toph asks, face incredulous and slightly amused.

Sokka chuckles, "Goatee, actually."

"Ah." She trails a finger along the edges of his jaw, and he shivers underneath her touch. "Sokka," she says, "I have to leave in two days."

"What?" He says, snapping out of his daze. Her small, cold hands continue trailing the silhouette of his face. He leans into her, letting her fingers ghost his skin, but eyes wide and staring into her green alluring ones.

"Twinkle Toes and I are leaving. That's another thing we were talking about." Toph murmurs. She's ghosted the ridge of his nose, on her way to the right side of his jaw, fingers curling as she runs her hands through his hair. It's gotten long; hs still puts it into a ponytail, but he doesn't shave the sides. Sometimes it's down, brushed carefully out of his face like his father wears his.

"Where?" Sokka asks.

"Republic City."

"Why?" He's not terribly alarmed; Republic City is a new place, and he knows Aang could use a strong hand like Toph's.

"I'm to become Chief of Police. Gather earthbenders and teach them metalbending." Toph looks proud, "I'm handing the school off to one of my best students and taking the position."

This causes Sokka to step away. "Chief of Police?" He asks, confused. "Why does Aang wants you?"

Toph shrugs, "He said that he trusts me wholeheartedly. He said I was the only one suited for the job."

"Why's he trust you that much?" Sokka asks, slightly annoyed.

"Dunno. But I trust him with my life and then some, too." She gives Sokka a wary look. "Don't tell him I said that."

Sokka chuckles. "Okay. Only one suited?"

Toph gives him a smirk, "The Avatar knows talent when he sees it." They laugh. Toph kicks off her shoes, the cold making her toes curl. She stretches, smiling at the freedom. The bed (she doesn't typically sleep in beds, but it's too cold here to do otherwise) awaits her, and after peeling off her shirt and Sokka's jacket, left only in the undershirt that she wears, Toph climbs onto the bed and underneath the sheets.

He kisses her goodnight. He's about to exit when he hears Toph's low whisper, "I like the goatee, Sokka."

"I like you," He responds.

Toph gives a soft laugh, masculine even in the quiet tone she gives him. "Sleep well, Snoozles."

"Sleep well, Toph."

**.  
. .**

The night before she leaves, she dances with him. Traditional Water Tribe dances and songs fill the air. "I wish," Sokka says as the dance around the large fire with the rest of the tribe, "That they could play the Flame Dance, but it's not a Water Tribe song and I don't have the music for it."

"The Flame Dance?" Aang says, from Toph's right. He makes a face, "I'm not a fan of that song."

But only Toph hears him, and at the moment she doesn't really want to know why the Avatar doesn't like a traditional Fire Nation song. They dance until a song for couples comes on. Sokka extends his hand out to Toph, saying to her (because he remembers she can't see in her shoes), "Shall we dance, m'lady?"

She shakes her head, "I'm wearing shoes. I'm totally blind. I'm not going to dance!"

Sokka tilts his head, "There's no difference. Just trust me. You'll be fine."

"I hate shoes," Toph grumbles, "It makes me uncomfortable and I'm not dancing."

A small voice to her left soon changes her mind, "Ms. Beifong, Ms. Beifong!" It's the voice of a young girl. It's familiar.

"Kid?" She asks, feeling for the girl. "That you?"

"It's me! Ms. Beifong," The girl says, "Will you please dance with Mr. Sock and I?"

"Sokka," the man immediately corrects. "And, how do you know Hanna?"

Toph grins, "Hanna. So that's your name, kid?"

"Yes, Ms. Beifong."

"I see," Toph ruffles Hanna's hair. "Hanna here walked me to your place after I got here. She's a lifesaver." The woman smiles, "So, you wanna dance, Hanna?"

"Yes, please!"

Toph cackles, "Well, sure. But just 'cause I owe you one."

"Can Mr. Sock join us?" Hanna says, glancing at Sokka and winking.

Sokka's hand reaches up to slap his forehead. "Sokka!" He corrects, "But, I'd love to."

The three join hands, Hanna and Sokka gently leading Toph. They spin and dance and fall down countless times.

It's a decent night.

 **.**  
. .

She kisses Sokka goodbye when no one but Aang is looking (he's distracted Katara for them; Toph is eternally grateful). Their foreheads meet for a few moments. "Here," Toph says, reaching to take off Sokka's coat. It still drapes her shoulders.

"Keep it." He says, and so she does. "You'll be safe?" He asks her.

She leans back, pecking him on the cheek before Katara finally turns around. "I won't stay safe," She says. "I'll get the job done."

Sokka looks worried by her statement, but doesn't argue.

She and Aang climb Appa. "I love 'em," Aang says, "But I'm glad we're leaving. Yip, yip, Appa." The giant beast takes off, it's tail flapping, the wind whipping at her hair. She pulls the blue coat up to cover her nose, and lays down on the saddle, surrounded by sheets she doesn't know exist. A few minutes later, when Aang has told Appa their destination and the bison has gave a loud and happy roar, she feels Aang come over to her, reaching for a blanket to cover her up. He puts a heavy bag over each corner so it doesn't fly away if she lets go of it.

"How can you stand the cold?" Toph says to him. He's sitting up, facing her, enjoying the wind in his face. She can't see this, but she's known Twinkle Toes long enough to guess at his actions.

Aang shrugs, "My roots come from the monks, from the bisons and the air. Wherever the wind is, I can be too."

Toph snorts.

"I'm just tolerant to the cold," Aang finally admits.

The moments pass before Toph asks him a question that has been eating away at her. "Aang, why don't you like that Fire Nation song?"

She hears him sigh. He reaches over to drape a blanket on his shoulders. "It's the story line. The slow beginning is about two people who meet and slowly fall in love. As it speeds up, their love grows stronger. The climax is when they finally admit their feelings."

Toph peeks at his general direction. her hair is crazed by the wind. To Aang, she looks the twin sister he always wanted; funny and strong and logical and stubborn. His exact likeness, and his exact opposite. A wonderful paradox. He loves her like a sister, and he knows she loves him like a brother. "That doesn't seem too bad," Toph says.

Aang gives her a bitter grin. It doesn't fit quite that well on his face. "The beginning, Toph, never is." She's silent, so he continues. "After the loudest part of the song, things start to slowly go wrong. If you listen to the music, it shifts keys into a minor tone. The music slows down gradually, getting rougher.

"Their relationship is going haywire. The boy is madly in love with the girl, and she him, but there's an issue; the girl, before meeting him, had been with someone else. This man comes back into her life, and the girl becomes confused. Finally, the girl's boyfriend lets her go. He tells her to go back to the other man, but she doesn't want to." Aang falls silent.

"What happened?" Toph prods.

"The girl tried to tell her boyfriend that she had made up her mind; it was him and it had always been him. But he was adamant. He said that she should return to that man. He could protect her better, anyway. You see, there was currently a war going on, and they'd drafted her boyfriend. But she still wouldn't leave him. This angered her ex boyfriend. One day, days before the girl's boyfriend left to fight, he snuck into the man's house and murdered him. The girl found her love and was heartbroken. She was so heartbroken, in fact, that she decided that she could not live without him." Aang glances at the sky, face hard. "She killed herself, leaving her ex boyfriend with nothing. So, guess what? He killed himself too. In the story, the girl sees her boyfriend again, standing in Heaven. But the gates separate them. Because she killed herself, she was sentenced to eternal damnation. They shared a last kiss before she was sent down with her ex boyfriend."

Aang shakes his head, "I hate that story, because there is no regard for human life. There is no real love. Just hatred and wanting. No real need."

Toph has fallen silent. "How could such a pretty song hold such a horrible story?" She finally asks.

The Avatar looks at her. She can feel his power, his aura, frighteningly powerful but horribly caring. That will be his undoing, Toph decides. The love he holds for others.

"In my one hundred and nineteen years," Aang says to her, "I have found that the most beautifullest things hold the most frightening tales."

She can't help thinking that he's talking about himself.

 **.**  
. .

"Aang, do you think we're stupid for loving Katara and Sokka?"

He chuckles. They've camped for the night, in the southernmost town of the Earth Kingdom. "No, I think we have good taste."

They walk through town slowly, him admiring the harmonious life the people lead, and she chiding herself for not coming out with the question that has been in her mind since she saw him again. Here she is, an eighteen year old woman, and she cannot talk to her brother.

"Twinkle Toes, the other night, when I told you about Sokka over that stew, what were you thinking?"

He doesn't immediately answer. "Why do you ask?" Momo flies back from wherever he's been, perching himself on Aang's shoulder and unceremoniously munching on a plum that drips juice down onto Aang's clothes. The Avatar just smiles.

"Zuko," Toph begins, "Said that our relationship would not end well."

"Did he now?"

Aang was starting to sound like Iroh. Toph was not pleased with this.

"He said he didn't think our destinies were aligned."

"I see." He tosses a nut high in the air, watching with amusement as Momo caught it. The lemur had to be nearing twelve; a ripe age for him. But he acted as if he were still a baby. Aang understood him. Often, the Avatar wished he could play around more often. It seems like every time he tries, someone would pile another burden onto his soldiers.

He remembers what his past selves had revealed to him; that being the Avatar meant giving yourself up. Aang understood this, and most days he did it willingly. Sometimes, however, when he watched Toph and Sokka play with children, when he watched Sokka fall flat on his butt or Toph bend for the kids' amusement, his heart ached.

Now, however, is no time to brood. He turns his attention back to Toph, who is looking at him as they walk. "Do you really want to know what I think?"

Toph shrugs, "Zuko's overly protective. He's never really thought I could take complete care of myself. But, he's a control freak, so that's understandable. I'm not ready for Katara to know, and even if she did, bringing this up to her would make her mad at me. She'd think I was implying Sokka was unfit for a relationship. But you're different." She looks at him, squinting unseeing eyes, "Why are you different?"

Aang laughs, "In my past life as Avatar Roku, I had an earthbending teacher. We became good friends. Such good friends, in fact, that our relationship lasted a lifetime. I think it lasted more than that. I think it lasted past my past life into this one."

"You think I'm your earthbending teacher reincarnated?" Toph asks him.

"Yeah, I do."

"And that's why we trust each other?"

"Pretty much."

"Hmm." She says, before punching him on the arm. "Sounds believable."

Aang rubs his neck, "Yep."

"Sokka?"

"Right." His arms reach up and entwine themselves behind his bald head. Momo screeches and moves over to Toph's shoulders. "I think that you and Sokka have always been meant to be. Not because I'm a romantic, but because I've seen the way you treat each other over the years. Both of you have always been in love with each other. You've always known it, because you're straight to the point. Sokka figured it out. He just took the long way around."

Toph releases a breath in relief. The Avatar is for them. Thank the spirits.

"But."

She sucks in a breath again.

He continues, "I see a lot of pain when I look at you two. A lot of bitterness and surrender. A lot of messiness before I see a happy ending. And even then, it's not completely happy. It's more..." Aang trails off, "I don't know what it is. I can't see that far in the future."

"Are we still together?"

She feels him wince and her heart crashes.

"Yes," Aang tells her, "But not in the way you'd like to be."

Toph nods slowly, breathing in and out steadily. She has cried enough this week. "I shouldn't be telling you this," Aang says, "After your parents and all, it's bad for your well-being."

"I can take a punch, Twinkle Toes."

His worried face is visible to her. It makes her squirm.

"I know you can," He says, "But not even Toph Beifong can take on an army."

**.  
. .**

They come to the funeral and sit in the back. People gawk at the Avatar and Toph Beifong (no one's made the connection to her and her parents; no one ever well, probably). They wonder why two perfect strangers are there, but no one asks. Toph spots cousin Jei and uncle Vumi and countless relatives who don't know she exists.

She walks out with her back straight. Her soul is mending itself, slowly. She remembers how Sokka said that just because you stop seeing people doesn't mean you stop loving them. She thinks that Sokka, for all his stupidities, is very wise.

They reach Republic City after a week of travelling. Giant, ugly buildings are being built. She can sense the imposing monstrosities and hates them. She can tell Aang does, too. "I'm sorry I asked you to do this," He murmurs, "I shouldn't have brought you here. It's a horrible place to live."

"Hey," She assures, "I like a challenge."

Her words don't do much.

 **.  
** **. .**

Toph has finally settled in three months later. Aang leaves as soon as he senses she's at home, which is four months after she's actually at home. There's a lot of thievery in the growing city, but it goes down as soon as Toph hits the streets with newfound confidence. She's a just Chief, but she's not known for her soft side.

Sokka comes to visit on month ten, the month of her birthday.

He sounds tired. He tells her that Katara's finally chosen a wedding dress. The date is set for May fifteenth of next year, the day she and Aang met seven years ago. He tells her that Aang is going around delivering invitations like a crazy man, so don't be surprised if he drops yours off and flies away. He tells her that they've offered him a job in Republic City.

"As a representative to the Southern Water Tribe," Sokka says.

Despite everything, Toph urges him not to take it. "This place," Toph says, "Is buzzing with different cultures that have come together to form a new one, and that's wonderful. But you'd hate it here. It is so, so stifling. I only stay because only I can get the crime to stay low. You're not a councilman, Sokka." She says, as she rests her chin on her head. "You're a warrior."

He sighs, "But I could be with you."

"This isn't a choice you make for someone else."

He knows she's right, but her logic frustrates him. He drops it, and tells the council to find someone else. They pick his father. His father is sixty-seven now, but takes the job without a second thought, only asking to be sent home every two weeks.

Sokka takes Toph out for her birthday, dancing to the song he considers 'theirs'. Toph smiles when it plays. He doesn't notice her rigid shoulders. She's beautiful. She's wearing her regular clothes; the green loose pants and baggy yellow shirt, but she still takes his breath away. They're on their way home from dinner and dancing when her hand tightens around his. Her breathing is steady, but her voice is low and urgent.

"Someone's on the roof. They've been following us since Badger Mole Boulevard, but something's changed. They're aiming something at-"

Toph hauls him to the side so suddenly that it takes him a minute to realizes his cheek is kissing a nearby brick wall. In that minute, Toph has handcuffed the woman behind the attack with such finesse that even Sokka is amazed. She's gotten good at her job.

"Third one this month," Toph mutters, "Who do you work for, scum?" She jerks the woman, but only a cackle slips out of her mouth.

"I've heard a lot about you, Chief Beifong." Dark, ratty hair and a large nose take over the woman's face, but Sokka manages to register one thing: the woman's left eye is nonexistent. There's a scar that runs over it. He sees an eyepatch on the floor, realizes it's hers. "Gotta say, I'm a bit disappointed. I thought you had more bite to ya."

"You wanna see bite?" Toph shifts. A slab of stone juts upward, meeting the woman's chin. Blood spills from her mouth. "Who do you work for?"

"Same old, same old, baby." He catches sight of her bloody tongue playing with something in her mouth. Sokka catches on a moment to late. "The Resistance, of course."

"Toph, she's-"

The woman bites the pill that has been hiding in plane sight; a false tooth. A deadly escape.

The blind woman curses as Ms. Eye Patch slumps over. "They all do that. It's getting on my nerves. I can never tell what that pill's disguised as, 'cause I'm always alone when they target me."

"This time they slipped up." Sokka helps Toph left up the body. "It was a tooth. A pill disguised as a tooth."

Toph's mouth forms an _O_ shape. "Smart."

After hauling the body to the police station, filing a report, seeing if her face matches past paintings of any criminals (it doesn't. Toph is bothered by this), and a meeting she schedules with the council, they leave.

"Happy birthday," Sokka says as they enter her apartment.

"Tell me about it," Toph returns, slipping out of her clothes into pajamas.

Sokka copies her. "No leads at all?"

She shakes her head, "No. I'm calling in favors from some of the best warriors and crime fighters I know. A lot of the leaders are coming in two weeks."

He nods, "I'll be here for that. Who's coming?"

Toph's expression becomes shuddered. "Zuko's Chief of Police, and Mai. Ba Sing Sei's new Dy Lee agents and professors of crime. Omashu's doctors and professors of history. Bumi wanted to come, but I told him there was no way a one hundred and twenty one year old was allowed to leave. He got mad, but I know he understood. Both of the Water Tribes' leaders. Except Katara sent your dad instead. And..."

Sokka narrows his eyes, "What?"

Toph studies him, "Suki and Ty Lee."

He feels like Appa just ran into his chest.

Sokka doesn't care about her the same way he used to, but an emptiness fills his heart when he thinks of her. He lost a good friend, and nothing hurts as much as losing a friend. "Oh," he manages.

He knows Toph understands his feelings. She's Toph; logical and intelligent. She nods, "You'll be okay?"

"Yeah."

She doesn't ask anymore after that. She climbs into bed, and Sokka after her. He falls asleep easily, despite the uneasiness of seeing his ex girlfriend and friend in a few weeks.

Toph has always had more trouble falling asleep. She carefully lifts the hand Sokka has atop her, getting up gently. The balcony that is connected to her apartment greets her. She steps out barefooted. One of the things she hates about Republic City is how so much glass covers the streets, causing her to walk with more caution than she'd like. But up here, on her balcony, she feels the vibrant city with peace. It's wonderful, all these cultures coming together. If only everyone saw it that way.

What happens next haunts her forever. It's her fault. She's immersed in her own thoughts and troubles that she doesn't feel the man that sits on the roof, the arrow in his hand. She doesn't sense how he pulls it back with such care, aiming for the small of her back. Her spine. She hears the release, the rush of wind, but thinks nothing of it until the sharpest pain Toph has ever felt makes contact with her.

Toph collapses, her eyes seeing blood. The arrow sticks up. She feels it, but doesn't move to pull it out. That arrow is holding everything in place. She lifts the earth, rolling it gently until she collapses next to Sokka. Slowly, with precision, Toph lifts herself and plants a kiss on his lips. If she is to die, she would die with him on her lips.

When she collapses again, she decides that dying by assassination is not a bad way to go. You leave on last, messy mystery in your wake.

The sweet surrender she's been searching for meets her, and Toph faints.

* * *

 _"And though I've only caused you pain_  
_You know with all of my words_  
_With were always beloved_  
_Although all the lies spoke_  
_When you're my road walking me home_  
_Home, home, home,_ home."  
**~Ed Sheeran, _I'm A Mess._**

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. I'm rude. But I promise the last chapter will be up soon, and you'll understand this whole mess that is Tokka. Also, sorry for spelling errors; I didn't spell check.
> 
> Reviews would be lovely.


	3. part iii.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part iii of my Tokka fic. Enjoy.
> 
> So, this is the end. I hope y'all enjoyed my fic. Sorry for any errors; I'm wicked lazy and didn't proof read. I'll be writing more Tokka in the future, as well as stuff involving older!Aang, because he's my fave, so stick around. Thank you so much for giving this fic a chance!
> 
> Reviews are totally welcome, I'd love them.

 

 _"I messed up this time_  
_-Late last night._  
_Drinking to suppress devotion,_  
_With fingers intertwined._  
_I can't shake this feeling now;_  
_We're going through the motions..._  
_...Hoping you'd_ stop."  
**~Ed Sheeran, _I'm a Mess._**

* * *

**foreword.**

They, in their toughest moments and in their happiest, have always needed each other. Not wanted; that came later. But needed. From the moment they met and onward, in the midst of the chaos of life, it was always them. The king and the lionheart against the world.

Or.

Perhaps it is the lionheart and the lionheart.

Whatever the case, it is a fact unashamedly proven, a truth universally acknowledged, that Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe and Toph Beifong of the Earth Kingdom completely and utterly need each other.

And so, in everything that happened afterward, it should come as no shock to the outside parties that stood witness to their tale that they remained together.

In the center of the bitterness, in the middle of the pain and heartbreak and the unfairness that hit them like the ten pound bison that had long ago shown them freedom, they remained.

In the midst of the tragedies, there was them.

* * *

She's still sleeping when Aang comes to see him. He sits by her bedside, patiently awaiting her. He comes everyday, staying until the hospital kicks him out. It's the middle of the afternoon. He's eating a sandwich, sketchpad balanced on his knee as he draws her.

He takes her in, the hair that has grown longer, the peaceful expression that makes her look years younger. He draws her sleeping form, noting with affection that she still wears the meteorite bracelet, years later, and is just writing in the title when he notices the Avatar.

"Aang."

"Still drawing?" The younger man strolls into the room, peering over Sokka's shoulder. His expression softens when he sees the detail Sokka's put into the drawing. It's lifelike. "Wow. You've... improved."

Sokka shrugs, "I practiced."

Aang peers at the title, " 'Beautiful'," He reads. The Water Tribe native blushes. Aang moves to the other side of the room, glancing at Toph for a few seconds. His shoulders slump. "Even now, she suffers."

"But she looks so peaceful," Sokka says, alarmed. "How can she still be suffering?"

"If Toph had been facing the attacker, the arrow would've struck her in the heart." Aang explains, "Luckily, she had her back turned. Her heart wasn't damaged, but her air chakra was." Sokka squints, so Aang elaborates. "The air chakra deals with love. It's blocked by grief. When the attacker struck her, it injured her chakra, making it more sensitive to grief than it should be. The balance was overthrown."

"What does that mean?"

Aang sighs, "It means that every single loss -every ounce of pain Toph has ever felt- is coming back all at once. She's not in physical pain, but she's in deep emotional pain. Chief Beifong's the best actress I know. She's talented at pretending her feelings aren't hurt, when in reality, they have been damaged more than the rest of us." He shakes his head, "Too much grief. She might never wake up."

Sokka's gaze becomes steely, "Don't say that."

"It's the reality, Sokka."

"Since when do you live in reality?"

"Since I fought the Fire Lord." Aang responds, more cool and collected than Sokka would've liked. "Toph got shot. She's been asleep for six months, Sokka."

Normally, it would be Sokka trying to sway Aang into being rational. It would be Sokka trying to convince Katara to think about her actions. It would be Sokka, and Toph would be at his side. But things hadn't been normal since Toph had been injured, six months ago. "What do you want?" He asks, venom dripping dangerously from his words.

"I'm coming on behalf of everyone, including Toph." Says the Avatar, his voice no-nonsense. Aang has never used this tone of voice on him before: he has heard it only when Aang scolds little kids, or when the master of the four elements speaks gravely to thieves and murderers and scoundrels. He's using his Avatar voice on him, Sokka finally registers. "This isn't healthy. For any of us. You sitting by her all day, grieving in her sleep. She can feel it, Sokka. She can feel it and she's absorbing it."

Sokka snaps, "How? How could she possibly feel my grief? She can't even see!"

The bender straightens his back, "We shouldn't be talking about this in here, with her. Fights between friends always saddened her, you know that. "

"BUT WHY?" Sokka again asks, "Why can't we? _She's asleep."_

Aang blows out a breath, voice quieter. "Spirits, you're just as thick as you were at fifteen. You're connected, Sokka. Don't you understand that?" A look at the older man's face tells Aang that no, he doesn't get it. "Ever since you hung off that barrage balloon, refusing to let her go, you've been connected. That moment was pivotal. It could have gone two ways. You could have let her go and saved yourself, or you could have held on to her until you both died. You chose to do the second one. Ever since then, ever since you chose her over _your own life,_ you've been connected. Don't you ever wonder why you're the first to notice she's upset? It wasn't her kiss that woke you up, when she got shot six months ago. It was the binding connection that formed from that situation. You felt her dying." Aang blinks, "She feels your grief, adds it to her's. Your connection is a beautiful thing, Sokka, but if you don't move on with your life, it's what's going to kill her."

"I can't move on," Sokka says, collapsing onto the floor. "Don't you get that?"

The Avatar rolls his eyes. Sokka has never seen him do that before. Katara was rubbing off on him. "You mean you can't stop loving her. That's okay. I'm not asking you to love somebody else. If I stopped loving everyone who'd ever left me, I'd be a monster. I'm -on behalf of everyone- asking you to do something with your life, to not let a sleeping Toph take over. She'd kill you if she were awake."

Sokka says nothing.

"Just..." Aang sucks in a breath, "Just think about it. If you heed my words, there's a better chance she'll wake up."

"How soon?"

The question silences the entire room. Aang squeezes Sokka's shoulder, turning to walk out without answering.

_"How soon?"_

Aang shuts his eyes. "I don't know, Sokka." He finally says, before moving quickly out the door. "I don't know."

**.  
. .**

At the end of the day, Sokka knows Aang is right.

He's right about their connection, about Toph's chances. He -Sokka- felt, from the moment Suki rescued Toph and he from certain death years ago, a calm certainty in the back of his mind. It was a relaxed song when Toph stood next to him, unscathed, not just physically but emotionally. It was a giant weight when she was in any pain. It was the reason he could never completely leave her, why he visited her regularly. They were connected not just by friendship or by romance, but by an undeniable truth: Sokka had chosen to die with her instead of saving himself. She had chosen this ages ago, saving him countless times at her own peril, but he hadn't completely made the decision until she'd fallen, and he had dived after her with the single thought of _Toph._

Now, the weight in his mind is loud and heavy, the heaviest burden he has ever known. It buzzes with pain, and as it does so, Sokka realizes Toph's head is probably doing the same.

It's the hardest decision he ever makes, to stop visiting her daily. But that evening, six months after she'd been shot, he brushes her hair, careful to leave it away from her face. He reads her favorite story, the story of Oma and Shu. She never admits it's her favorite, but Sokka knows. Sokka always knows. He kisses her forehead before he leaves.

"Beautiful, I love you." Sokka murmurs.

He walks away.

 **.**  
. .

He heads back to the Southern Water Tribe, training warriors. Occasionally, he ventures into the Fire Nation to chat with the Fire Lord about renegade ships floating amongst his seas. "Even now, not every citizen understands the difference between unity and slavery," Zuko will murmur.

The same children he had trained before he and Katara found Aang in that iceberg are now teenagers, awkward and lanky like he used to be. Sokka teaches them how to dance with a sword, teaches them how to feel each breath and swing a precise blow, blindfolded. Each becomes respectfully good, and he is proud.

Every month, once a month, he visits her. He notes the way she looks just a little bit older each time. A complete year passes. This time, he visits her on her birthday. The day she got shot. What a bittersweet reminder, Sokka thinks to himself. She's twenty, now.

She hasn't opened her eyes in a year.

Sokka breathes in, fearing the weight of that truth might kill him. He clutches her hand, kissing her knuckles, loathing how limp she feels underneath him. He spends that week with her, praying that she might awaken, but she doesn't. He vows to return the month after.

Another five months are spent training the Southern Water Tribe's growing military. The waterbending academy Katara always wanted is built, and opened.

His father dies.

It's expected, but it stings him nonetheless. A memorial is held, silent, his body burning (there are no graves in the Southern Water Tribe, it is too cold: only cremation memorials). Sokka holds his sister, back curling to accommodate the height difference between them. Aang precedes over everything, steady and unmoving as the wind swirls around him, as the tears and ashes burn his face. It overwhelms Sokka. Toph, in her sleep. His father, in his _eternal_ sleep. And Aang. Sokka will never completely wrap his head around Aang. A boy who was forced to grow up too quickly, who suffers from things not even Katara knows about, protecting his friends -the world- even when they don't know it. It's surreal.

He wishes he'd had more time with his father. At the end of the day, it's his only regret. But that's what wars do, he supposes: Tear you apart.

The next day, Katara and Aang come in, sit down next to him, watch him call Republic City (that's one thing that happened in the year Toph slept: Telephones were invented). He asks for her, for Toph, and they tell him, "She's actually doing a lot better, she might wake up." But Sokka has heard this lie for two months straight, and he's already given up on it. "Thanks," He says, and hangs up.

When he turns around, Aang pokes Katara, and she makes a face at him. Aang only looks at her, innocently, and pokes her again. "Aang," Katara whispers. Sokka guesses they don't know he's done talking. "Why can't you do it?" She pokes him in the chest, but Aang leans back, dodging the attack.

"Because, he's _your_ brother, and _I_ don't want to get murdered." Aang states, as if the answer is obvious. "C'mon, Katara, please?" He gives her puppy dog eyes, tilting his head and letting his tongue roll out. "Pretty please?"

"But you're the _Avatar."_ Katara retorts, "He won't kill you. Plus, you're friends."

"Hey, not my fault I don't wanna die. I'm not ready to be reincarnated just ye-" Aang turns, spotting Sokka watching him with an indistinguishable face. So, not completely grown up, then. Good. He'd been starting to worry.

"What's... going on?" Sokka asks, leaning heavily against the wall.

Katara nudges Aang, hard, in the gut, and Aang grunts. Then he speaks, "Um, well, y'know how we had put off the wedding after Toph got hurt, because, y'know, we wanted to wait for her to wake up?"

Sokka nods. "Yeah. What's this got to do with anything?"

"Dad dying," Katara pipes up, "Got us thinking, that we shouldn't wait around forever."

"Iroh's not as young as he used to be," Aang supplies, "And we're not getting any younger. The doctors say she'll wake up soon. We have hope it'll be in time to be Katara's maid of honor."

He's a little miffed by their optimistic attitude, but nods. He gets it, he does. He just wishes that it didn't have to be this way, that he wasn't stuck without the woman he loved, that his father didn't have to leave before his children could get married, that he didn't seem capable of _moving on._ Seriously, what was wrong with him?

He shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. "Yeah, I get it. I'm happy for you guys. Really." Katara bites her lip, playing with the necklace that she's worn ever since their mother dies. "What's up?" He asks her. Whether she likes it or not, Sokka is her older brother, and he knows her.

She sighs, "You're going to give me away," She finally says, "Are you okay with that?"

He stares at her, his eyes a bit confused before clearing into understanding. He nods, placing a hand on her shoulder and Aang's. "Oogies or no oogies, you're my family, and it would be my pleasure." Sokka replies, and means it.

**.  
. .**

The wedding is a three months away when he gets a call from Republic City's police force. They have been operating under the order of Mijo, Toph's right hand man. "Hello?" He asks, awkwardly holding the telephone as he spoons some stew into his mouth. The air is cold around him, but the fire is warm, and it twists his heart in two as he recalls the way Toph's face looked by the fire light. So full of light.

"Sokka? It's Mijo." The voice on the other end sounds weary.

"Howdy do," Sokka responds, "How may I help you?"

Mijo pauses, "Er, well. It's kinda urgent, important."

He looks up, staring at the white wall, framed with drawings of his friends -his family. "What is it?" He asks, and when Mijo is clumsy in responding, he asks again, "Tell me, Mijo. What's up?"

"Toph woke up," Mijo says.

The stew Sokka had been eating falls to the floor, spilling, but Sokka forgets about it, getting up and taking the telephone into his room, where he grabs a bag and begins to spill clothes into it. "She's awake," He murmurs. He is ecstatic, running around like a madman until he hears Mijo yelling.

"SOKKA!"

"WHAT?" Sokka responds, yelling into the telephone.

"Sokka, they told her. That she'd been asleep for almost a year and a half." The Water Tribe native slows. He feels sick, for some reason. "They explained what happened. She ran out on them, Sokka. We can't find her. We've looked everywhere." He hears the nervous edge creep into Mijo's voice. "She's not in Republic City, Sokka. We don't know where she is."

Bile rises, but he swallows it down. He shuts the suitcase, stumbles back into the kitchen. "I see," Sokka finally murmurs. "I'll find her, Mijo."

"We'll keep looking, we'll alert you if we find her."

"Thanks."

He hangs up, and heads back into his room to grab the suitcase that rests on his bed. He sees a sudden flash of white, his mind fitting him with the image of a girl, beautiful and young, crying in his arms. He stops, watches the memory in fascination, before it fades. Sokka grabs his bag.

So, maybe his life sucks. Maybe the universe has this sick sense of humor and likes to pull tragedies on him every five minutes. Maybe his dad is dead, maybe his first girlfriend turned into the moon, his second one dumped him, and third one got shot. Maybe he's a failure.

But that third girlfriend is _alive_ and _awake_ and so what if she's lost? Sokka has spent the last year and a half missing her, and he's never been more sure of his love for that woman he can't seem to find. He'll never stop fighting for her.

He strides out the door with a single purpose, a sole thought, flitting around his mind.

_Beautiful. Beautiful, I'll find you._

**.  
. .**

He thinks to himself, a hundred times a day, _where would Toph go?_ But whenever he thinks he's on the verge of finally finding her, she slips through his fingers. She's never where he thinks she'll be, and that kills him because he thought he knew her like the back of his hand.

He supposes a year and a half of sleep didn't help, but it still stings him.

Sokka has checked her parents' house. He has checked the Fire Nation. Ba Sing Se (twice). Omashu. The Western Air Temple. Her apartment in Republic City. In all those places, he feels traces of her, but it's not enough, those little snippets.

He has spent the entire month searching in vain, anger and frustration rising up into his throat until he just _can't take it anymore._

The nearest tree shakes with force as he throws his body against is because he is _so,_ _so angry._ It isn't enough that he's had to live without her for a year and a half. Now he has to look for her and never find her. Now he has to look for the woman he loves and go home day after day without her. It's pitiful. Sokka hates pitiful.

When his knuckles begin to bleed, Sokka decides to make his way to the nearest bar. He sits on a stool in the corner, ordering what was probably the strongest drink he's ever ordered. He is sitting there, mulling over his horrible twenty-three years of life, when he hears somebody shove a phone back onto it's stand. Angry yelling hits his eardrum.

"We didn't have this up 'til a year ago," He hears. The man curses, an angry string of obscenities. "All this newfangled technology is mind boggling." More angry ranting ensues, but it's drowned out by Sokka swallowing his drink. He finishes it, pays the bartender, and heads to his hotel.

Halfway there, he remembers the words he'd heard.

_We didn't have this up 'til a year ago._

A year ago.

It hits him like one of the stones she used to nail him with, and he can't help slapping his forehead. Spirits, he's so _dumb._ If he had woken up from a coma, found out he'd been asleep for a year and a half, and then found out the world had been changed by all these new means of communication, that so many new things were happening, what would he do?

He'd go to a place that was untouched by modern technology and movements, a place that had remained the same throughout his sleep. For him, that place would be the garden they have in the Northern Water Tribe, where Aang had entered the spirit world and Yue had given herself up, many years ago. Or the Western Air Temple. He had always liked the safety of that place.

But for Toph, he supposes neither of those places would sooth her. The Western Air Temple brought back memories of her feet being burned, something she doesn't like to remember. And the Northern Water Tribe? Well, she'd never even _been_ there, for starters. Where would she go?

He looks up at the stars, as if expecting them to answer. That's when two options occur to him. Her old metalbending academy is one. But the other is much more promising.

He thinks of a belt that hangs framed in her apartment, a belt she makes him polish once a year. She won it, when they first met. That belt is seared into her mind, never to be forgotten. That place is, too.

He checks out of the hotel and heads towards the place where he first met Toph Beifong. He goes to the stadium where Earth Rumble Six was held, and he finds her.

**.  
. .**

Toph hears him.

She's sitting, at the very center of the arena, unmoving. Her hair is loose, a tangled mess. She's still in her hospital garments. Her breathing is even, but his is far from it. When he lays eyes on her, Toph cannot help the tears that prickle at the corner of her eyes. But she breathes in and out, steady. She counts to ten, and the tears disappear. Grief, the doctors warned her, just before she ran off, will kill you. Be wary of it.

This is her, being wary. It's why she left. She heard the telephones ringing, the snapping of photos and hot paved roads, and felt the bile of change rising. She left before it killed her. But sensing him, now, she can't believe she had the nerve to put him through all this. She's an idiot.

"T-toph?" She hears, and Toph swallows hard. She doesn't get up, stays silent. "Toph, is that you?"

Toph opens an unblinking eye. " 'Course it's me, idiot. Who else would it be?" She opts for a response that sounds normal, a response that makes it seem like she hasn't been asleep for a year and a half.

What if he doesn't love her anymore?

The thought strikes a chord in her. She controls her breathing. Of course he would, Toph thinks, straining for the logic that she lives on. If he didn't love her, he wouldn't have come looking for her, right?

She gets up, very slowly, when she hears him climbing the steps up to the arena. Once he gets to the top, he stands very, very still, watching her. "Sokka," She says, her voice echoing across the empty stage. She wants to say something witty, but instead a choked sob forces its way up. "Sokka," Toph echoes.

"Beautiful, I missed you." He says. His voice sounds so soft, but so much deeper than it was when she went to sleep. The _unfairness_ bites and claws at her like the beast it is, but Toph bites and claws back. She's awake, and he's here, and they'll fight through it because it's _them._ "Come here." Sokka says, stepping towards her.

For once in her life, she obeys. She breaks into a run, feeling the earth vibrate. Sokka braces himself for the impact, stepping towards her slightly. When she reaches him, he picks her up in his arms and spins her around. It feels terribly cliche to Toph, but after months and months of sleep, she needs cliche.

"Sokka." Toph murmurs, feeling for him, touching all the new scars that trace his body.

"Beautiful," Sokka responds, and kisses her.

**.  
. .**

He explains to her, in a quiet voice and thoughtful sentences, what has happened. The paved roads and tall cities, the telephones and imposing bright lights of cameras. It startles her, but she slowly accepts it. A week later, he manages to drag her away from the arena where they'd first met. He takes her to the nearest hotel, but the running showers and noisy pipes scare her, so they opt for the river instead. It is a humbling experience, Sokka thinks, to see Toph so unsure of the world, unsure of herself. It has never been her way, but now, she wavers.

She bathes in the river, washes her clothes while he cooks with his back to her. Toph likes that, his respect for her privacy. It is one thing that has not changed, that never will. She eats with him, lets him massage her, lets him tell her stories of things she's missed.

When it is time to sleep, they lay side by side. She waits til he begins snoring before she gets up. The river is to her left. To her right is a forest. In front of her lies their camp, and behind her a rocky terrain. She heads towards it, and when she arrives, she begins to practice. Pushing and pulling and shoving and making the rocks do her will calms her. She doesn't go back to Sokka until she hears the first note of a bird's song.

Toph had attempted to sleep, when she'd first arrived at Earth Rumble after waking up. But her sleep brought nightmares, from her days in the war, from her days with her parents, from her days as the Chief. The little times she could sleep, she would often wake with her space rocked morphed into a weapon, rocks jutting around her wildly in fear that a trespasser was around. It's PTSD, Iroh had once whispered over tea. Zuko suffered from it, as well.

She had thought -no, she had _known-_ she'd gotten better, recovered a bit, but it was as if her injury had brought back all her fears, all her grief.

Then Toph remembers what the doctors told her, about her air chakra, and she decides maybe her injury _had_ brought back all her fears.

"Sokka," Toph whispers, when she feels the heat of the sun on her face and senses the struggle of a mouse-squirrel waking up her children. "Sokka, it's time to wake up. Didn't you say you had to call Katara and then go to the Water Tribe?"

"Five more minutes," Sokka mutters, and pulls the covers up around him. She gets the urge to bend a rock that throws him sky high, but logic tells her Sokka is too accustomed to that. He'd go right back to sleep afterwards. Instead, she opts for surprise.

Toph leans forward, kisses his jawline. She feels his eyes fly open, his heart rate speed up. "Sokka," She says, "Wake up, baby."

He turns towards her, moving so she's sitting in his lap. He groans into her before leaning in to kiss her. He's wide awake, now. Abruptly, right before they kiss, Toph bends a rock to hit Sokka on the side of his head, getting up and laughing loudly. "Get ready to go, idiot."

Sokka should've felt angry, but all he feels is a slight annoyance and a deep affection when she calls him _idiot._ It's her way of saying she loves him, and it makes him giddy.

**.  
. .**

Katara screams into the phone, immediately demanding that he measure Toph so she can get the dress ordered. "It's, like, three weeks before the wedding!" Toph smirks when she hears her friend's voice. Sokka hands her the phone, nose wrinkled in disgust.

She takes it, gingerly, as if it could explode. She doesn't seem to know what to do with it, so he guides the mouth piece to her mouth and the upper part to her ear. "Speak," He murmurs.

"Sugar Queen," Toph finally says, loudly, like Katara is ranting in front of her and not a thousand miles away. The noise on the other end quiets down in seconds. "Listen up, I'm about to give you my measurements." There is a silence, "Are you listening, Sugar Queen?"

"Yes yes yes yes YES!" Toph hears. She grins. Once she's done, she hears Katara sigh, "Toph, you'll be my maid of honor?"

Toph nods, but then remembers Katara can't see her. It's funny. Everyone's always had to remember that with _her,_ not the other way around. " 'Course." Toph says, "See you soon."

"See you!" Her chirpy voice fades and the line cuts off.

Toph turns towards Sokka, making her voice sound stronger than she feels. "Could I have more money? I... wanna call Mijo." Wordlessly, he hands a coin to her, and she has him dial the number. When Mijo picks up, she explains everything in the commanding voice she dawns as Chief of Police. She tells him she'll be back in a month, and hold down the for til then, _that's an order._ He says, "Yes, ma'am," And, before they hang up, "Stay safe, ma'am."

Good ol' Mijo.

They board the ship -it's so much louder, with so many people. Bands are playing in the corner. A cruise ship, Sokka tells her. They're new- and take refuge in their rooms, away from all the noise. Sokka leaves to dine with the captain, but she stays behind, feeling the rush of people about and the blindness that comes when she hits her metal barrier. Sokka returns at around ten, tired and full. He forces her to wash up, to rinse her hair, and she only halfheartedly fights him.

The waves have a way of sucking the life out of her. Sokka knows this. He places an arm around her and launches into a story about Aang and Zuko and he when a question strikes Toph. "How's Zuko? And Mai?"

Sokka cringes.

"Sokka..."

"They broke up," Sokka spits out. "Mai dumped him. Said he was too busy, to distracted. She was right, but she could've been a little more understanding. Being Fire Lord can't be easy."

Toph nods. Silently, she leans into Sokka. "The world is very different, now." She murmurs.

He nods.

She feels tired, and doesn't fight the sleep. Perhaps tonight the nightmares will show mercy. She walks towards her bed, straps herself in. "Perhaps it is for the best," She says, mostly to herself.

Sokka hums in response, and it is then that it strikes Toph that perhaps Sokka hasn't totally adjusted, either.

**.  
. .**

She and Sokka arrive a week before the wedding. Katara is frantic. Her other bridesmaid, a woman named Naya, reads her the guest list as Toph struggles to keep up. Only some names are familiar. Zuko (best man), Teo, The Duke, Tiny, Ty Lee, Suki (Toph almost trips), Iroh (he's to tie their knot), Haru. After that they start to trail off into strangers.

Naya says the dresses are all beautiful. Toph shrugs; she doesn't really care. They could all go in naked. All she cares about is Twinkle Toe's and Sugar Queen's wedding.

Speaking of which.

"Where's Twinkle Toes?"

The question stops Katara dead in her tracks. Slowly, she says, "Bumi died. Aang's at Omashu trying to sort things out. There's a lot of instability right now."

That's a blow. Toph knew how close Aang and Bumi were. Her ears burn. She nods and keeps up her attempt to not trip (she feels helpless and hates it).

She doesn't say anything.

There is nothing to say.

**.  
. .**

"Sokka's better at this than I am."

"Sokka's giving away his sister, so just suck it up and be my eyes."

"But-"

_"Zuko."_

Toph's glare is one of murder. Zuko gulps. He's tempted to make a sarcastic comment about how someone woke up on the wrong side of a coma, but knows it unwise. Not only would she stop talking to him, but she'd severely injure him, too. "I'm not as steady," He protests, weakly. They're standing at the door, ready and waiting for the music to start.

"No one is." Toph says, "But you're second best."

He chooses to take it as a complement, "Thanks." He musters up courage, before, "How are things going? With you and Sokka?"

Toph's blush lets him know she's alright. She punches him, but it's a little lighter than usual. "They're good."

He nods, ignoring the weight in his belly. He notices she doesn't ask about Mai. Sokka must've told her.

When Iroh winks at him, Zuko stands a little straighter. Toph gets the message. Her smile frames her face, grace flits into place. The picture of perfection, Zuko thinks. The sweetness of serenity, painted on her face. It fits her, the royal expression.

He makes the first move down the snow-covered aisle, and she is quick to follow. Naya and Teo follow. Zuko places Toph on her spot, and goes to stand in his. The cold creeps up Toph's legs, but she swallows it down, keeping her smile in place. She hears the rush of people standing, the hushing of the crowd, and imagines the only two Water Tribe natives she's ever loved, one in a dress that is reportedly whiter than anything ever seen (What is white? Toph wonders.), and the other in his warrior uniform.

Her smile isn't painted. Once Aang takes Katara from Sokka, Toph reaches out to place her hand on Katara's shoulder, as is Water Tribe tradition. Zuko places his hand on Aang's.

When Iroh pronounces them husband and wife, Toph's hand leaves Katara's shoulder, flying to her painted lips for a wolf whistle that is, well, expected.

**.  
. .**

The months pass, and six months after she's woken up, she's back into the steady rhythm that Republic City brings her. Aang used to come regularly, but she chased him off, claiming he was messing with her system. In reality, it was more the fact that Katara was pregnant with her first child, and Toph was mad that Aang wasn't being more attentive. Toph knew Katara needed no help -the woman was the strongest lady she'd ever met- but that didn't mean Katara wouldn't appreciate grand gestures.

Aang might be the Avatar, but he's also a husband. Sometimes, he needed reminding.

Sokka stays in Republic City with her, his apartment right next to hers. He has a job as representative of the Southern Water Tribe, taking up the job after his father passed. They spend days and nights laughing and fighting, but always making up. That was their way. Sokka and Toph, Toph and Sokka. In the good, in the bad, in the ugly.

It's a healthy relationship, full of opportunity and appreciation, with two (mostly) mature adults that sometimes get drunk but other than that are totally responsible. And for a year, they get to know each other again. They fall in love. He makes dinner every evening for them, and she helps clean the dishes. It isn't the best food, but it's better than anything she could make, and Toph is eternally grateful for him.

They take off time to visit Iroh in Ba Sing Se, to visit Zuko in the Fire Nation. Katara has her baby -a healthy, beautiful boy. They name him Bumi, and Aang cries until Toph tells him to suck it up and grow a pair. Aang quips on how Toph _can't talk like that in front of a baby,_ but then breaks into a grin.

Toph almost kills him a few months later, when Aang's face turns bright red over the fact that baby Bumi is not an airbender, or any bender, apparently. She wants to murder him, because here he is, with a wonderful, healthy child, and he is _unhappy_ at the baby's _one imperfection._

In the end, it is Sokka who talks sense into him. Sokka took an immediate liking to Bumi, and when Aang throws a tantrum, he is the one to take him into a room and tell him to shut up, sit down, and be grateful for what a beautiful child Aang has. Katara didn't talk to Aang for a full month, but she eventually forgave him.

When Kya is born, two years later, and is found to be a water bender, Toph is happy for the couple. Aang is elated at the prospect of a water bender, and for the longest time seems to forget of Bumi's existence. It breaks Toph's heart. "Why does he do that?" She asks Sokka, after they leave the Southern Water Tribe.

"Aang has never understood people who aren't like him," Sokka responds. "And because of that, he doesn't completely know how to love them."

She sighs. Twinkle Toes is her brother, and he is an idiot.

 **.**  
. .

"Beautiful."

It's his nickname for her, _Beautiful,_ and she'd never tell him, but she loves it. The record player in the corner is playing Flame Dance (the story Aang told her, years ago, is far away), and she turns, expecting Sokka to ask her for a dance. But then she feels him, the way his body holds itself, and Toph straightens. She holds her head up high. "Yeah?"

Sokka's back is to her. He's washing dishes. Toph is folding clothes. Without looking at her, he continues. "Katara and Aang are moving to Republic City. Oh, and Katara's pregnant again."

"That's great!" Toph says, "And, I hope it isn't an airbender."

"Don't say that," Sokak chides.

"It's true," Toph shrugs. "I don't want Aang forgetting he has other kids."

He shakes his head.

She treads carefully. She lets the silence settle for a couple of minutes before breaking it. "Sokka?"

"Beautiful?"

"What's the bad news?" She plays with the space rock he gave her years ago, her loose hair helping to hide the nervous habit of her's.

A plate drops into the sink. She doesn't comment, instead lets him compose himself. She's almost done folding clothes when he speaks, "Y'know how Katara was the Chief of the Water Tribe?"

Done folding clothes, Toph gets up and stretches her back. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, um, Katara called, and she said that... she said that the people... want to keep the tradition." He dries the final plate, and then dries his own hands.

"Uhuh, what tradition?" She collapses on the couch. Why are his vitals still nervous?

"The Chief of the Southern Water Tribe has always been someone in my family. Before my grandmother died, it was her. Then it was my father. Then he retired, and my sister took over. Now..." Sokka trails off.

It hits her like a train wreck. She's up on her feet and in his face in about four seconds. "It's your turn." She guesses.

Sokka swallows, hard. He nods.

Toph curses, loud and vulgar. Then she calms her breathing. "How long will you be gone?"

"Two years, at least. Until I find a suitable replacement and the people accept breaking tradition isn't a complete bad thing."

"Are you gonna go?"

"Not if you don't want me to," Sokka shrugs. "They can throw their tradition in the ocean if you don't want me to go."

She almost says it, that by _no means_ can he go for _two years_ because she's _head over heels in love with him_ , and is that so hard to see?

It strikes her that she rarely tells him she loves him, but the thought leaves her mind quickly, replaced by reasons he shouldn't go. She turns away from him, and falls to floor, gracefully beginning her pushups. She thinks best when doing exercise.

"Toph?"

"Shut up," She snaps. He obeys, opting to sit on the floor. She feels him reach for his drawing pad, lets him draw her.

_I won't go if you don't want me to._

_I won't go._

_If._

_You don't want me to._

He must know she doesn't want him to leave. They have been parted for so long. She knows he probably doesn't want to leave, either, but Toph also knows this: She is just one person, capable of being in love with him, but handling herself well without him. The Southern Water Tribe is rapidly growing, a flourishing community. They need someone logical, talented, to lead them, but also a man or woman of the people.

They need him. She needs him, too, to help her plan her raids, to interrogate criminals, to make fun of people with. But she doesn't need him as much as the Southern Water Tribe.

The tears mix with sweat as she sits to face him. He hands her a towel, and she wipes herself with it. "Sokka," Toph says, "You need to go."

His eyes go wide. She can tell he is surprised, but treads on, anyway. "And you need to do it without a tie to another place."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sokka asks, but she knows he understands.

Toph shrugs, like it's no big deal. "It means we need to say goodbye to each other, for a little bit, at least, because if you went while you were still in a relationship with me, you would be calling me every five minutes, boarding a ship every month, and you can't do that. You need to focus on your duty."

Sokka reaches for her hands, "Toph, come on. You can't be serious. I wouldn't be like that, for real. Be logical. Please!"

When they ghost her fingertips, she pulls away like his touch is acid. Her face hardens, her heart breaks. She stands, "No, Sokka, _you_ be logical. You know I'm right. You're intelligent. Brilliant, even, but you're a hopeless romantic. I know you, and I know you would be too distracted if we tried to maintain this relationship. And, frankly, I can't have you calling me everyday. I can't afford such luxuries." She uses a voice she's never used on him; the cold, measured voice, void of emotion. Her insides, however, are falling apart, the grief startlingly clear. Toph tries to control it. She _will not_ go down tonight. Not even if it breaks her.

Sokka stands, following her as she opens the door. "When does Katara move?"

"Two weeks," Sokka responds. His voice is deflated.

"Great, I'll come over tomorrow and help you pack up." Toph nods.

Sokka looks at her, confused. "Didn't you just break up with me?"

Toph rolls her eyes. She grabs him by the shirt, hauls him down towards her, and kisses him roughly on the lips. She doesn't let go until she's out of breath. Once she has released it, she says, "I'm not breaking up with you til you board that ship. I'm logical, but I'm still in love with you." Her cheeks are dusted red as she says this.

The man grins, slowly. "Goodnight, beautiful." He says, and closes the door.

**.  
. .**

When he leaves, he leaves with a look back, his eyes taking her in like she is heaven on earth. She is wearing loose pants, and a baggy shirt, her hair messy and knotted and loose. He knows that as soon as she turns around, she'll cry, and he prays that she will know that his heart belongs completely, totally, and recklessly to her. Over the past few years, he had felt unsure, but looking at her, now, as he leaves for an indefinite period of time, he has never been more sure of this: In this life and into the next, he will love Toph Beifong.

When she is completely out of sight, he still remains, staring.

A voice to his right startles him into the here and now.

"Who was she?" It's a little boy, around six, staring at him intensely. He's in fire nation garments.

"Who was who?" Sokka returns.

"The pretty lady that you kept looking at," The boy says.

Sokka laughs. Pretty. He wonders what Toph would say. "She's a..." _G_ _irlfriend,_ Sokka wants to say, but instead he says,"... friend."

The boy looks dubious. "Do you love her?"

"Very much, yes," Sokka says, and smiles.

"Does she love you?"

His heart falters, a blush rises to his cheeks. He bends down to the little boy, tweaks his nose. He leans in, as if he's going to tell a secret.

He says, "Very much, yes."

**.  
. .**

Toph has never been a heavy drinker, much to everyone's surprise. That was Zuko and Sokka. She would occasionally participate in drinking games (and always win) but that was about it. Tonight, though, she goes to a bar and drinks until she cannot feel the earth beneath her feet. This makes her an easy target, but Toph doesn't care. She should be helping Aang and Katara unpack, but Toph _doesn't care._

Eventually, Toph stumbles out of her little hole-in-the-wall, and into the streets. She's not watching where she is going, but eventually she falls into her apartment and goes to sleep.

The grief is strong, but the drink is stronger.

**.  
. .**

The habit continues into the month, but she doesn't get full out drunk again until Sokka calls her, one evening. She's halfway home from the bar when she runs into someone. He helps her up, and stares at her.

"What?" Toph finally says, dreamily. She has always been a happy drunk, like Sokka. Katara is an angry one, but she doesn't get as angry as Aang. Zuko is a sad drunk.

"Toph?" His voice floats over to her's, and recognition snaps into place. The boy who made Sokka jealous.

"Carrot?" Toph asks.

"It's, uh, Kanto, actually." Kanto sighs, and stares at her a second too long. "I'm in town for a few days. Wanna go get a couple of drinks? I'll take you home, after."

She can tell that isn't what he really wants, but Toph doesn't care. She finally stands still long enough to get a proper read on him. She sees the lie in his words, the kindness and recklessness that makes him a danger.

Toph takes his hands, kisses the side of his mouth shamelessly. "Let's just go to my place," She says, and she feels him grin.

She knows he's a danger, but she doesn't really care.

**.  
. .**

Toph took off, a couple weeks later, to go visit Iroh in Ba Sing Se. She throws up the entire way there, and knows already what has happened. Still, she goes to the doctor upon arriving.

"You're pregnant," The woman tells her, and Toph nods.

"Okay," Toph says, like it isn't a life-changing event.

But the doctor, to Toph's relief, seems to understand. "If you don't want to keep the baby, we've got plenty of adoption programs."

Toph nods, again. "Thanks. I'll get back to you." She says goodbye to the woman, and walks out of the clinic, pretending she isn't scared to death.

The Jasmine Dragon is closed when she gets there, at around ten PM. The door, however, is unlocked, just like Iroh said it would be. She enters, "Iroh?" Toph asks. "I have news!"

Silence greets her. It prickles her skin.

She feels no heartbeat in the building. Toph stifles her fears, focussing on her surroundings. No heartbeat, but there is a human-shaped object lying on the other side of the counter. Slowly, she steps forward. "Iroh?" Toph calls out. There is no answer.

When she sees him lying on the floor, unbreathing, Toph cannot say she's surprised.

**.  
. .**

She gets a teenage girl to help her, and she calls the hospital, like you're supposed to do when someone dies, and then calls Zuko, who begins to yell at scream and cry. Toph takes the phone and thanks the teenager. "Zuko-"

"-IT'S YOUR FAULT! IF YOU'D GOTTEN THERE EARLIER, HE'D STILL BE ALIVE." He's in hysterics. Toph is close to following him. A tear rolls down her face. Zuko seems to have forgotten that Iroh was like a father to her, too.

"You're right," Toph says, instead, because she knows _I'm sorry_ will just make him angrier. "It's my fault. I should've been here earlier, and I wasn't, and I couldn't do anything about it, and I had to find him dead, the man that helped raise me. Goodbye, Zuko." She hangs up, because Zuko might be her brother, but he's infuriatingly emotional, and she can't be around that, right now.

As Toph waits for the hospital, she takes a seat by Iroh's dead body. The grief is clawing it's why up her throat, suffocating her, begging her to give in. Her tears glide downwards, until her hands hit the wood floor, again and again. She screams, loud and raw.

 _"It's not fair."_ Toph yells, crying. _"I came to you for help and you leave me. It's not fair. I told the man I loved to leave me because his homeland needed him more and now I'm heartbroken and_ pregnant _and you're dead? It hurts so much. Why, Iroh? Why did you leave me? I need your help."_ She collapses, next to him, the darkness fast approaching. _"I need your help."_ Toph says, and then she faints.

 **.**  
. .

"You didn't bring tea."

She sits up, her eyes unaccustomed to the brightness. After she adjusts, she can see a man with hair white as snow sitting cross legged underneath a giant tree. The tree's leaves are green, bark dark.

Toph blinks.

"I can see." The woman says, taking in the surroundings an exotic shades that aren't black.

"In the Spirit World, all injuries and defects are nonexistent. I've got no joint problems here." Iroh pats the spot next to him, "Sit."

Toph looks at all the shapes, all the colors, and then snaps her attention to Iroh, committing him to her memory. After all, for her, seeing is not an everyday occurrence. "Iroh?" Toph asks, "Why am I here?"

"Well, you're not really here." Iroh begins, "You're actually in the hospital, near the brink of death. You're being worked on by Katara."

Toph looks up at him. Her hair, she notes, is dark. The exact opposite of Iroh's. "I'm what?"

He nods, "In your grievance for me, and in your heartbreak for Sokka, you blocked your air chakra. Aang and Katara were immediately summoned. All your friends followed. Katara is working on you. She's pregnant, you know. Like you."

Toph nods, closes her eyes, lets the darkness seep in. "I don't want to be pregnant."

"Why not, child?" Iroh pats her hand, "Life is a beautiful thing."

"I'd be a terrible mother."

"Toph Beifong, motherhood is something to be learned. You're not born with it."

She shakes her head, "Katara was."

"Katara, too, learned. Didn't Sokka once tell you she took on great responsibility when her mother died?"

Toph shrugs. Iroh stands, holding his hand out to her. She takes it, and he leads her to a river. "Look inside." He says.

She obeys. For a second, nothing happens, but after a moment Toph begins to see the shimmers of light. She hears the coo of a baby. A tuft of black hair. Pale skin. Then she sees herself -Toph Beifong- holding said child. It's the first time Toph sees herself crying happily.

The river shimmers again, to an image of a five year old commanding that she be given a turn on the slide. The children ignore her, but she is not a quitter. She summons a stone, slams it into the slide, effectively breaking it. _"If I can't play, no one can."_ The girl shrugs.

Years pass. Toph sees the girl going out on her first date, coming home with a black eye. _"He didn't want me, he wanted my body."_ The girl says, before crying. Toph watches herself -an older self- take her child into her arms, soothing the girl. Then, months later, the girl goes out on another date with a boy clad in airbending clothes. Their relationship lasts longer, but eventually the boy calls it off. This time, it isn't Toph who sooths her. It's a man with dark skin, shoulder length hair, and strong arms. Toph finds herself blushing. The man is very handsome and is, for some reason, familiar to her.

"Who's that?" Toph asks Iroh.

Iroh gives her a knowing smile, "Spoilers," he responds. Toph rolls her eyes.

 _"You are the most beautiful girl in the entire world,"_ The man says to her. _"Never forget that your mother and I love you so much. If Tenzin thinks Pema is better than you, he's mistaken."_ He hugs her close again, and she sniffles. _"S-"_ She begins to say, but then the image changes. She's graduating. From the Police Academy. Toph watches as she herself pins the badge on her daughter's uniform. _"Lin,"_ Toph says, _"You've well."_

The images fade, and in an instant Toph is staring at a blank river. She fingers the meteorite bracelet. "What did I just watch?"

"You asked for advice," Iroh shrugs, "I gave it to you. The child you are carrying will be the best thing that ever happened to you. She will lead to your happy ending."

Toph shakes her head, "I don't believe you."

A wind rushes through. Toph feels herself waking up. "You wanted my help, Toph. Here it is." Iroh responds. "Please, I'm begging you, listen. Promise me you will."

She shifts her feet, fighting against the wind. "I..." She blinks, taking in his weathered face. "I promise."

Iroh nods at her, "Remember: You make each other better."

"Who makes each other better?" Toph asks, confused.

"You know who," Iroh responds, grinning.

He pushes her back, into the wind.

**.  
. .**

"Thank the Spirits you're awake. I was getting worried." Katara's voice fills Toph's ears.

They have her on the ground (Katara must've insteaded, bless her), so Toph can see her pacing.

"Your air chakra almost killed you. You really need to learn how to control your chakras. Maybe Aang could give you lessons?"

"I'm Twinkle Toes' teacher, not the other way around, Katara." Toph sits up. She steadies herself before asking, "How's Iroh?"

The Sugar Queen stops pacing, but answers her. "They've got him in the morgue. His heart stopped. Simple heart attack."

"You think all that tea would've made him immune."

Katara gives a loud laugh, and Toph can tell that she's grieving, too.

"Thanks," Toph chokes out. "For, y'know, healing me."

"You're my friend, Toph. Any time." Katara sits down in front of her. "Can you do me two favors, though?"

Toph nods, "Sure."

"You and Sokka are breaking each other. I need you to call each other a little more often. Not get back together, per say, but... act like you love each other, because you do, and I know you always will." Katara smiles.

Toph's jaw drops.

"You _knew?!"_ She asks, and the waterbender chuckles.

"I'm Sokka's brother, your friend, and Aang's _wife,_ of _course_ I knew."

Toph growls, "I knew we shouldn't have told Aang."

Katara laughs, loudly, and Toph's heart eases just a bit. "What was the other favor?" She asks.

Katara's smile fades. "Don't, for the love of all things good, hide your pregnancy from Sokka. Tell him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Please?"

Well.

The Sugar Queen seemed to be on top of everything.

Toph sighs, "I'll tell him. But only because you saved my life."

Katara shakes her head, "What are you going to name your baby?"

Toph's mouth opens, and then closes. Finally, she says, "Lin. Lin Beifong."

"And if it's a boy?"

She shakes her head, "It won't be."

 **.**  
. .

Zuko apologizes for his outburst, and Toph forgives him, because she understands grief, she knows what it can do to people. Grief can turn people into unashamed lovers, or absolute monsters.

The funeral is bursting with people. All of them, Iroh had touched. All them knew him, loved him, grieved him. The man had touched a lot of lives. Including hers.

Afterwards, she sees him. Sokka stands at the train station, his bag in his hand. She runs up to him, and she senses the way he gets so happy at the sight of her.

This is who Iroh meant, Toph thinks. The person that makes her better. "Beautiful," He says, and they embrace.

She doesn't want to tell him, but it falls out of her mouth -everything; the heartbreak, the alcohol, the baby- when he asks how she is. He takes it in with calm strokes of her hair. When she is done, he kisses the top of her head, and then leans down. Slowly, he kisses her belly. Toph knows, in that moment, that she is in love with the best man in the world.

"It's okay," He says, "Beautiful, it's okay. I'll come visit, on your eight month, until the baby comes."

"Why?" Toph asks. Why would he, if it isn't his baby?

"Because I'm in love with you." Sokka says, as if it's simple. "And you're in love with me, and just because you made one mistake doesn't mean I'm never going to forgive you. Plus, it's your baby, and if it's your baby, I immediately love it."

"Oh." Is all she can say. Sokka laughs, and kisses her. She tastes like stardust.

"Beautiful," He says, "I'm with you til the end of the line."

**.  
. .**

He comes on her eighth month, just like he promised. She doesn't get it; how he could forgive her after she slept with another man, but she supposes it has something to do with the fact that Sokka understands doing stupid things because of heartbreak.

He massages her feet everyday after she comes home from work (she's doing nothing but signing papers and bossing people around; no field work is annoying), cooks her nothing but pasta and salad, because for some reason, meat is atrocious to her nowadays. He accepts it, eating it with her. The patience in this man astounds her. He has only yelled at her twice (both were well deserved) but always apologized afterwards.

They kiss and walk through the streets like a married couple, and they sort of are, but neither of them bring it up. They had learned, long ago, that Toph and Sokka were Toph and Sokka, an inseparable team. Marriage was something Sokka wanted (Toph wanted it, too, but she'd never admit it), but it was something that would not happen for years to come. It was simply their way.

When her water breaks, Sokka freaks out. He runs around like an idiot, screaming things like, "TOPH IS HAVING A BABY, MY GIRLFRIEND IS HAVING A BABY!" And being no help. She takes her bags and strides out the door, him following, a complete mess.

"Sokka, calm down." Toph says, cursing at him.

"DON'T SWEAR, YOU'RE HAVING A BABY!" Sokka scolds.

"DON'T YELL, I'M HAVING A BABY!" Toph responds. This shuts Sokka up. He's shaking like a leaf, but from then on switches into leader mode.

"Toph Beifong, she's started contractions." He says, when they reach the front desk. They admit her and have her sitting there for an hour before Toph finally gets impatient.

"Tell them I'm giving birth _now."_ Toph says. Sokka obeys, but the nurses and doctors don't listen. Toph screams, "THE BABY'S COMING, YOU IMBECILES. GET YOUR BUTTS OVER HERE."

They obey.

She grips Sokka's hand, screaming as she pushes. Her grip gets tighter and tighter, until she breaks Sokka's hand.

"Almost there," The doctor tells her.

Toph continues to push. "Beautiful," Sokka groans, "You're breaking me."

Toph sends a glare his way.

Sokka sighs. He will have to suffer with her, then. That's fine. As long as he's with her.

**.  
. .**

She loves her baby girl.

Sokka describes Lin to her, and Toph feels like crying. Her baby is beautiful. "You both are," Sokka says, when Toph comments.

They let Katara and Aang and Zuko in, and each of them hold the child. "I bet she and Tenzin will go out." Bumi comments, when Aang lets him peak at the baby.

Kya shoves him, _"Bumi."_

Aang, Zuko, and Sokka laughs. Katara is not amused. Toph just stares at the baby and swears that she'll be there when Tenzin breaks her baby's heart. Once everyone leaves the room, Sokka asks, very quietly, if he could carry Lin.

Toph hands her to him, "Look, Lin. This is Sokka."

Sokka smiles at her. "Hello, Lin." He says, "You are the most beautiful girl in the entire world. I love you so much."

Toph's heart races. She sees the handsome man, with the dark skin and the long hair, and in that moment, she realizes that their little family will be alright.

**.  
. .**

He has to leave, eventually, for the Southern Water Tribe. He vows to find a replacement as quick as possible, but it takes longer than they expected. It's hard, on all three of them.

He's gone for three years, it turns out. He'll call her sometimes, always the same greeting.

"Beautiful, how are you?"

"Okay. Always okay."

Lin learns to talk, at some point. When Sokka calls, she'll gurgle, "Sock!" It reminds Toph of Hanna. How is Hanna? Sokka laughs the first time he hears her. They talk, the three year old and he, and she grows accustomed to his voice.

On normal days, Toph will come home from work, picking Lin up from the daycare on the way. She'll open canned dinners and collapse, exhausted, feeding the child that she refuses to admit she loves. She'll tuck the girl in, and fall onto the floor, and dream.

On bad days, she comes home with blood on her uniform, Lin a little too still in her firm arms. She'll feed Lin but not herself, she won't play with the child. She cries herself to sleep, asking why she has to be so stubborn and _stupid._ Her nightmares tell her love is stupid and family is stupid and everything ends, everything. She's shot over and over and _over_ again. The meteorite bracelet is lost.

But there comes one day, the best day, when she feels a certain vibration at her front door. "Lin, get the door." Toph says, a hopeful smile on her face. The girl gives her mother a strange look, but obeys.

She hears a cry of glee -he must have told Lin who he was- before she feels his vibrant steps.

 _"Beautiful,"_ Sokka says, his voice breathless as he approaches her with Lin in his arm. He stands before her in all his glory, patient as ever, awaiting the woman he loves. "How are you?"

And, well, it doesn't exactly take a genius to figure out how she is. Toph beams, reaching up to shamelessly kiss him, Lin squirming between them.

"I'm amazing."

Sokka turns to the little girl, "What's with your mom?"

"She missed you, or something." The three of them laugh. Toph leans into him. She feels herself surrender, and for the first time in a long time, Toph feels like it's a good thing.

They might be a mess, but at least they're a mess together.

Days pass by.

* * *

 _"And oh, how long I've loved my lover.  
For how long?"  
_ **~Ed Sheeran, _I'm a Mess._**


End file.
